ATHENS, Greece (Dec. 15) -- Hundreds of baton-wielding protesters clashed with police here today, hurling firebombs at a soaring building housing the Greek Finance Ministry and marring a massive protest against austerity measures.
The clashes morphed out of a protest march that gripped the Greek capital as tens of thousands of workers went on strike, railing against moves to liberalize the country's labor market and slash salaries at public corporations.
Hooded protesters -- some wearing ski goggles, others equipped with gas masks -- pelted riot police with stones and petrol bombs before rampaging through central Athens, setting dustbins ablaze and smashing cars parked outside luxury hotels.
Riot police retaliated by firing tear gas and percussion grenades as acrid plumes of smoke cloaked the city in one of the worst shows of violence since the socialist PASOK government enacted austerity measures in exchange for a $146 billion bailout decreed by the International Monetary Fund and its European peers.
The clashes morphed out of a protest march that gripped the Greek capital as tens of thousands of workers went on strike, railing against moves to liberalize the country's labor market and slash salaries at public corporations.
Hooded protesters -- some wearing ski goggles, others equipped with gas masks -- pelted riot police with stones and petrol bombs before rampaging through central Athens, setting dustbins ablaze and smashing cars parked outside luxury hotels.
Alkis Konstantinidis, AP
Hundreds of protesters clashed with riot police across central Athens on Wednesday, smashing cars and hurling gasoline bombs during a massive labor protest.
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