Students set up a symbolic encampment in the Agias Sofias square in Thessaloniki on October 20, 2026. (Photo by Sakis Mitrolidis / AFP)
Athens: Inspired by protests in France and other parts of Europe, thousands of Greek students on Wednesday demonstrated around the country against the high cost of living, saying they face many of the same problems.
"In Greece like in France, we are demanding public, free education," Katia Koubousidou, head of a student union at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, told AFP.
"This will not be a one-off protest. We have a plan to continue our demonstrations."
Police put the turnout at the Athens demonstration at least 5,000 people.
Similar protests were held in other major Greek cities.
Dozens of students earlier Tuesday set up tents on Athens' Syntagma Square, facing Parliament, and on a pedestrian street in Thessaloniki.
State hospital doctors and civil servants also staged strikes and work stoppages on Wednesday.
Secondary school pupils and teachers are protesting poor infrastructure, a shortage of staff and increased public spending on education.
The conservative Greek government has sought in recent days to avoid any parallel with the protests and violence in France.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Monday that the country would "never return to the era of great social unrest" during the financial crisis over a decade ago, marked by unpopular austerity measures.
French cities were hit by some of the country's worst rioting in recent years on Saturday, with public buildings torched, hundreds of shops looted and more than 2,000 people arrested.
According to EU data agency Eurostat, Greece in 2023 spent 3.3 percent of national output on education, among the lowest share in the bloc and far below the European average of 4.7 percent.
