Domino effect: Student protests engulf Greece

Another country of the European Union (EU) is gripped by a protest wave. Thousands of people took to the streets of Greece. The discontent of the population against the background of rising living costs, housing crisis and budget constraints goes beyond individual countries and acquires a pan-European dimension. In which other EU states may protests begin and what they will lead to at the unification level, see the Izvestia article.

The outbreak in the south

Thousands of schoolchildren, students and their parents, as well as teachers and staff of medical institutions protested in Greece. This was reported by the state Public Broadcasting Corporation ERT. Large marches were held in Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras, Larissa, Heraklion and other cities.

The demonstrators demanded that the Government increase public funding for education, improve learning conditions, address staff shortages and school safety, and address the housing crisis. In Athens alone, approximately 10,000 people joined the peaceful protest.

Some protesters carried posters in French, thereby emphasizing solidarity with the recent student demonstrations in France. One of the slogans on the Greek banners read: "Money for education, not for wars — France shows the way." The protesters also used the phrase "Learn or survive" in French. The organizers presented the idea of the demonstrations as part of a "pan-European movement" that would help change the situation in different countries, thereby improving the quality of life and education in individual states.

Despite the fact that the protests took place in a fairly peaceful atmosphere, isolated incidents of pogroms still occurred. For example, in Athens, in the area of the central Omonia Square, teenagers threw bottles and stones at police officers, four people were arrested. Some protesters also used Molotov cocktails and tried to damage city property.

Some of the demonstrators spent the night in tents in front of parliament, voicing the same demands for affordable housing and funding for educational institutions. The strikes disrupted the workflow of several schools and hospitals in the country. For the duration of the protests, traffic was even stopped and metro stations were closed in cities for safety reasons, but after the end of the marches, their work stabilized.

On the eve of the protests, as noted by Reuters, Greek Education Minister Sofia Zaharaki said that she had already heard the demands of students and students, and also acknowledged that the high cost of housing was becoming a serious financial burden for Greek families. As one of the steps to solve the problem, she pointed to the implementation of projects worth more than €733 million (about $823 million), involving the construction of new student dormitories and the modernization of existing infrastructure.

After the debt crisis of 2008-2019, the economic situation in Greece is indeed not going well. Many residents of the country still continue to face delays in salary payments. At the same time, fuel and rental prices are constantly rising.

Salaries themselves have increased since that time, but only nominally — on average they remain at the level of 2009 and equal to about 1.5 thousand euros. The real purchasing power of the Greeks remains one of the lowest in the entire EU.

The wind is blowing somewhere

In general, experts say, the protests in Greece, despite their scale, are unlikely to have any serious consequences. Rather, the situation will develop according to the scenario of constant increasing political pressure on the government of the current Prime Minister of the country, Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Now, against the background of what is happening in the state, the left-wing opposition is consolidating around the newly created ELAS party ("Greek Left Alliance"), led by former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. It turns out that for the opposition, protests are becoming not only a tool for expressing public discontent, but also a way to strengthen their own positions ahead of the parliamentary elections to be held in 2027.

— However, as for the political and economic concessions to the protesters, the authorities are taking a tougher stance here and shifting the dialogue to the EU level, saying that the strict framework is set by the European Commission. Mitsotakis seeks to preserve his reputation as a "realist" by contrasting himself with populists, explains MGIMO analyst Vladislav Gosteva.

Europe is on fire

Protest waves have gripped many EU countries. Italy, Spain, France and several other countries are experiencing crises of education and housing affordability. In Portugal, for example, between 2015 and 2024, property prices increased by 124%, twice as fast as the EU average. Demonstrators have set up dozens of tents in Lisbon and Porto, demanding measures to curb the rising cost of housing and living expenses.

Some European politicians are worried that demonstrations may start in their countries. For example, recently the leader of the British Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, said that the scenario of the riots that engulfed France could be repeated in the UK. "I'm worried that similar things might happen here. That's why it's very important for us that our economy grows again," she said in an interview with GB News channel.

Many EU countries are now facing growing budgetary pressures related to the need to simultaneously finance the social sphere and defense, which is compounded by the declining competitiveness of the European economy and the abandonment of Russian energy resources, said Sergey Shein, a leading researcher at the Center for Integrated European and International Studies at the National Research University Higher School of Economics.

— As a result, social groups that depend on government support face the risk of income cuts, which forms broad protest coalitions uniting different strata of society. Southern European countries are particularly vulnerable, where high debt burdens and economic constraints limit the ability of governments to maneuver. Therefore, this region may become one of the main hotbeds of further spread of protest activity in Europe," he admitted.

First of all, protest activity affects the stability of the internal political systems in the European Union. It sharply raises the issue of additional social support measures, and also puts pressure on national governments. However, with rising costs and limited budget options, it will not be easy to meet the demands of the protesters.

As a result, internal political stability may become one of the key factors determining the actions of European governments, especially in the context of the upcoming elections. It is quite possible that the authorities will seek to postpone the adoption of the most difficult decisions, and the opposition will try to move the discussion of controversial issues to the pre-election agenda.