Greece Riots

ATHENS—A nationwide general strike paralyzed Greece on Wednesday as protests against the government's recently announced austerity measures turned violent, with an apparent firebomb attack on a central Athens bank killing three people.

Wednesday's 24-hour strike is seen as a key test of the government's ability to shepherd through tough austerity measures in exchange for a €110 billion ($143 billion) bailout loan from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

The strike coincided with protests that brought out tens of thousands of Greeks, one of the country's largest protests in years. Angry youths rampaged through the center of Athens, torching several businesses and smashing shop windows.

Greece's government, facing spiraling borrowing costs and a debt payment this month that it can't meet, is scrambling to pass through legislation implementing a three-year austerity and reform program it agreed to as part of the loan deal with the EU and IMF. Parliament is expected to vote as soon as Thursday on the measures.

Under terms of the bailout deal, Greece's government has announced a €30 billion package of measures that will slash public-sector wages, cut pensions, freeze public- and private-sector pay and liberalize Greece's labor laws. In addition, Greece has pledged to raise taxes—including a two-percentage-point increase in Greece's top value-added tax rate, to 23%—and to increase excise taxes for fuel, tobacco and alcohol.

Some officials saw a broader shift behind the protests. Tens of thousands of ordinary Greeks turned out to express their disenchantment with the current and previous Greek governments, whose corruption and accounting legerdemain they see as spurring the current budget crisis. "We may have an uprising in the making," said one senior government official.

"This rally was double the size of the largest rally that has ever been held in Greece," said Spyros Papaspyros, president of Adedy, a civil-service umbrella union. "Tomorrow afternoon, we will also be holding a protest in front of parliament, and if the government doesn't listen, there will be more strike action next week."

Wednesday's 24-hour general strike hobbled government services across Greece, shutting ministries and public offices. State hospitals and public utilities were operating with skeleton staff. Shopkeepers joined the strike at midday local time, while journalists, bank workers, teachers, court workers, lawyers and doctors also walked off the job. All flights in and out of Greek airports were canceled, while rail and ferry operations nationwide have been suspended.

Continue reading - Three Killed in Fire as Strikes Grip Greece

Seeing is believing.

Greek protests turn deadly


Greece riots: 100,000 fight against harsh cuts in Athens financial crisis protests


Clashes at Greek protests over budget cuts


Euro dream over? Death over debt looms as Greece financial crisis spreads


Eurozone under warfare: Engdahl on Greece crisis