Greek Riots of 2008

In December 2008, widespread riots broke out across Greece after a police officer shot and killed a 15-year-old student, Alexandros Grigoropoulos, in the Exarcheia district of Athens on the evening of 6 December. The killing sparked immediate outrage. Within hours, protests and riots erupted in Athens and quickly spread to Thessaloniki and other cities, and even to Greek communities abroad. For several weeks, young people, students and anarchist groups clashed with police, setting fire to cars, banks and shops, and causing extensive damage in central Athens, including to the large Christmas tree in Syntagma Square. Schools and universities were occupied. The riots were fueled by deeper frustrations among young people, including high youth unemployment, low wages, political corruption and anger at police violence, and they came as the global financial crisis was beginning to hit Greece. The officer who fired the shot was later convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, though the sentence was later reduced on appeal. The riots foreshadowed the social unrest that grew during the Greek debt crisis. Every 6 December, marches commemorate Grigoropoulos.