Roughly 100 self-styled anarchists attempted to re-occupy a recently evacuated “squat” in the northern Athens municipality of Maroussi, with riot police first blocking the attempt and then giving chase through its main shopping district, which was packed with people on Sunday given that the day is the last Sunday before Christmas.
Riot police used tear gas in some instances, while the mostly youthful groups of self-styled anarchists broke several storefronts, threw tables and chairs against police officers chasing them and then fled into the electric rail line (ISAP), breaking ticket validating machines in the process.
The months-long Mitsotakis government has promised to evacuate all “squats” in the country. Self-styled anarchists and “anti-state” activists have occupied scores of empty private and public properties over the years, which authorities charge are often dens of drug dealing, migrant “flophouses” and mustering points for attacks against police and other targets, such as banks.
