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Published on Wednesday, May 5, 2010 by The Telegraph/UK
Greek Crisis: Clashes Turn Deadly as Thousands Protest Against Cuts
Greek protests turned deadly on Wednesday as three died in an Athens bank set alight while tens
of thousands demonstrated against harsh new spending cuts aimed at saving Greece from
bankruptcy.

Protesters set a bank in the Greek capital on fire as scores of demonstrators tried to storm parliament, throwing chunks of marble at police, who
responded with volleys of tear gas and stun grenades. The fire brigade said at least three people had died in the fire.

The clashes took place during a march against austerity measures, the largest since the country
was gripped by a debt crisis in October last year.

Violence also broke out in the northern city of Thessaloniki, with youths smashing windows of
stores and fast food restaurants.

The demonstrations came as Greece ground to a halt on Wednesday, paralysed by a nationwide

general strike in the first major test of the socialist government's resolve to push through
unprecedented austerity cuts needed to avert a fiscal meltdown.

Public transport was halted, ferries were holding at docks and air traffic was grounded as unions went on the warpath against the latest wave of
spending cuts and tax hikes.

As the violence escalated in Greece, Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, warned that the future of the European Union was at stake as the crisis
over the Greek bailout pushed the euro to a 13-month low against the dollar.

Ms Merkel defended her decision to back the unpopular measure and called on fellow politicians to give their support.

"The future of Europe and the future of Germany within Europe is at stake," Ms Merkel told the German parliament, which will vote on Friday on a
package that would see Germany lend 22.4 billion euros (£19 billion) in taxpayers' money to Greece.

Ms Merkel's cabinet agreed on Monday to the German contribution to a three-year €110bn (£95bn) EU and International Monetary Fund bail-out for
Greece. But investors doubt that the loan will be able to stop contagion to other vulnerable eurozone countries, including Spain, Portugal, Ireland and
Italy, which also have debt problems. Investors have warned that these countries may require even larger bailouts.

© Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2010

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Posted in Economy/Trade, protest, Greece,

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