Thousands protest in Greece over cost of living, education

• Over 10,000 students, teachers, and public workers marched in major Greek cities against living costs and poor education conditions
• Demonstrators highlighted falling ceilings, broken heating, and a 15,000-teacher shortage, demanding increased public spending, free education
• The ADEDY union declared a work stoppage to join student rallies, calling for wage increases and strong support for educators
• Amid 5.1% inflation, Prime Minister Mitsotakis insisted Greece will not return to the social unrest of the 2009–2018 financial crisis

More than 10,000 students, pupils, teachers, and public sector employees staged protests in Athens and other Greek cities on Wednesday to condemn the rising cost of living, drawing explicit comparisons to current social unrest in France, according to police and local media reports.

A police spokesperson told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that around 5,000 people assembled at midday in the capital, while 3,000 gathered in Thessaloniki, the country's second-largest city. State broadcaster ERT reported that over 3,000 people also marched in the western city of Patras.

Demonstrators focused heavily on the state of public education. High school pupils and teachers cited severe infrastructure deficits and understaffing, demanding free public education and an urgent increase in public spending.

According to the secondary school teachers' union, Greek schools currently face a shortage of 15,000 teachers.

"The quality of education is extremely low (...) schools are understaffed, and school buildings are dilapidated," said Maria, a municipal worker in her fifties near Athens, as she joined a march toward Syntagma Square opposite parliament.

Comparisons to France

Protesters openly linked their struggle to ongoing demonstrations in France.

In Thessaloniki, student banners read "Greece and France, revolution everywhere, the same problems and the same enemy" and "From Greece to France, we fight for free and public education."

Students set up tents in Athens and Thessaloniki on Tuesday evening.

Katia Koupousidou, representing philosophy and pedagogy students at Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, stated that the cost of studying has become unbearable while daily living expenses drain families' incomes.

In Athens, pupil Yannis Papanikolaou noted that protests in France help push for local change, adding that classrooms in his school have broken windows and non-functioning heating.

Physical safety concerns were also raised during the Athens rally.

Seventeen-year-old Nikos Mavroudis reported that portions of the bathroom ceiling collapsed at his central Athens school, following a recent incident in Thermi near Thessaloniki where a 14-year-old student was injured by falling classroom ceiling debris.

Additionally, a major high school in Athens closed due to a gas leak alarm.

The public sector union ADEDY joined the student demonstrations following a morning work stoppage.

Hailing the mass protests in France, ADEDY presented a list of demands including general wage increases and vital support for teachers.

Greece's conservative government has sought to avoid comparisons with the protests and violence in France.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis affirmed on Monday that Greece will "never" return to the era of major social unrest experienced during the 2009–2018 financial crisis.

However, Eurostat figures show Greece allocated 3.3% of its GDP to education in 2023 compared to the EU average of 4.7%, while September inflation reached 5.1% year-on-year against the euro area average of 3.8%.