Approximately 10,000 demonstrators, comprising school and university students alongside teachers, gathered peacefully in central Athens and surrounding areas on Wednesday to protest education funding levels. The rallies extended to other Greek cities including Thessaloniki, Patras, and Larissa, with participants chanting slogans calling for public, free education. The demonstrations reflected solidarity with concurrent protest movements unfolding across Europe, particularly in France and Albania, where education-related grievances have expanded into wider discontent over cost-of-living pressures.
The protests in Greece placed added scrutiny on Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his centre-right administration as the nation approaches parliamentary elections scheduled for mid-2027 amid economic contraction. Greece’s current situation reflects lingering effects from its prolonged debt crisis spanning 2009 to 2018, during which the government implemented substantial spending reductions as conditions for three separate European Union and International Monetary Fund rescue packages totaling approximately 290 billion euros. These austerity policies have contributed to persistently difficult economic circumstances for Greek workers, who rank among Europe’s lowest-earning populations while contending with wage stagnation, elevated housing costs, and rising energy expenses.
Protester Georgia Foukidou, a 21-year-old university student in Athens, characterized daily life in Greece as challenging, citing excessive rental rates, cramped living conditions, and parental financial strain in managing housing, utilities, and basic living expenses. Wednesday’s demonstrations included coordinated strikes by primary and secondary school instructors protesting inadequate compensation and staffing deficits, while substitute educators advocated for permanent employment status and reduced classroom sizes. Public sector employees and other labor organizations also participated in the collective action.
Education Minister Sofia Zacharaki stated prior to the protests that the government remained attentive to student concerns, highlighting governmental expenditures exceeding 733 million euros directed toward constructing new student housing and modernizing educational facilities. The Mitsotakis administration has additionally committed approximately one billion euros in state support mechanisms and supplementary provisions designed to mitigate heightened energy costs affecting households and commercial enterprises, attributed to regional tensions and inflationary pressures.
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