This archive report was first published on 17 November 2019.
On November 17, 2019, thousands of Greeks gathered in Athens and Thessaloniki to mark the 46th anniversary of the student uprising at the Athens Polytechnic.
The protest, which drew over 30,000 people, was one of the largest in years and was heavily influenced by opposition to the four-month administration of Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
"Down with the right-wing government" read a banner carried by the protesters, while others chanted "Uprisings do not end up in museums."
Protesters also carried banners against the government's labour and education reforms, and shouted slogans against US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Some 20,000 people marched in Athens, while another 9,000 demonstrated in Thessaloniki, where protesters threw firebombs at cars.
Separate demonstrations were also held in Greece's other major cities, with some 5,000 officers mobilised in the capital to maintain order.
Several youths were arrested after Molotov firebombs and stones were found on a roof in the bohemian district of Exarchia, in an apparent plan to ambush riot police.
On Wednesday, the government secured parliamentary approval of a law applying harsher penalties for public violence, including up to 10 years in prison for throwing a Molotov cocktail.
Athens mayor Kostas Bakoyannis, who is the PM's nephew, urged respect for the city, saying "On this anniversary, let's send out the right message. A shared message about memory."
Leftist main opposition leader Alexis Tsipras accused the conservative government of harbouring "junta applauders" in its midst, referring to former far-right politicians given cabinet posts by Mitsotakis.
