Archive picture from Thessaloniki, Greece – Riot police conflict with protesters throughout a 2016 demonstration marking the anniversary of the 1973 scholar rebellion. Comparable scenes performed out in Athens this weekend (April 12, 2025) as contemporary unrest erupted within the Exarchia district.
Credit score: Shutterstock, Giannis Papanikos
Riots erupted within the coronary heart of Athens over the weekend, plunging the favored British vacationer district of Exarchia into chaos as petrol bombs, fireworks, and stones have been hurled at an area police station in a late-night rampage. The reality behind the chaos – learn on.
Exarchia, the gritty coronary heart of Athens identified for its rebellious streak, went up in flames as chaos erupted on its slender streets. Petrol bombs, fireworks, and flying stones lit up the night time sky after a gaggle of masked rioters launched a sudden assault on the native police station. Riot cops hit again with tear fuel, however the insanity rapidly unfold. By dawn, greater than 70 arrests had been made, automobiles have been scorched to shells, and the town was left reeling. The spark? A late-night park live performance – and presumably, a protest with deeper political roots.
The violence broke out simply after midnight on Saturday, April 12, when a gaggle of round 50 people reportedly peeled away from a close-by music occasion and started attacking the Exarchia police station, in response to eyewitness accounts cited by ERTNews. What started as a focused assault quickly escalated right into a full-scale riot that unfold by surrounding streets.
A number of parked automobiles and motorbikes have been torched, and riot police have been swiftly deployed, responding with tear fuel to disperse the attackers. By Sunday morning, the smoke had cleared, however not earlier than greater than 70 arrests have been made, in response to Greek safety sources. One particular person sustained minor accidents.
The Exarchia district, identified for its bohemian ambiance and historical past of political activism, has usually been a flashpoint for clashes with police. However the scale and depth of the weekend’s violence shocked even seasoned locals.
Greek media has linked the unrest to simmering anger over a tragic practice crash two years in the past, which claimed 57 lives. The incident, nonetheless contemporary within the nationwide reminiscence, has fuelled ongoing accusations in opposition to Hellenic Prepare – the nation’s principal rail operator – and the conservative authorities, each of whom stand accused of negligence in sustaining Greece’s crumbling railway infrastructure.
Tensions have been already working excessive following a bomb assault on Friday on the Hellenic Prepare headquarters. Although nobody was injured, the blast reignited public fury and will have added gas to Saturday’s fireplace.
Whereas authorities proceed to research the exact motives behind the riot, the mix of grief, outrage, and a long-standing mistrust of presidency establishments appears to have created a unstable cocktail in Exarchia.
Footage from the scene exhibits flaming wreckage and residents trying on in disbelief as sirens pierced the night time. Retailers and houses within the space have been additionally broken, including to the devastation. Police maintained a powerful presence on Sunday to forestall additional flare-ups.
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