2008 Greek riots

2008 Greek rebellion
Clockwise, from top left: riot police face protesters; police move in to contain rioting civilians; a protester defies police; burned-out vans; an abandoned barricade; and protesters retreat from tear gas
Date6 December 2008 — 17 January 2009
Location
Greece
Caused by
  • Murder of Alexis Grigoropoulos
  • Great Recession
  • Allegations of corruption
  • Increased unemployment
Goals
  • Better standards of living for youth
  • Reforms against police brutality
  • Removal of political pressure
  • Protesters exploitation of the unrest
Methods
Resulted inTwo special guards found guilty

The 2008 Greek rebellion started on 6 December 2008, when Alexandros Grigoropoulos (Greek: Αλέξανδρος Γρηγορόπουλος), a 15-year-old Greek student, was killed by a special officer[1] in Exarcheia district of central Athens.[2] The killing of the young student by police resulted in large protests and demonstrations, which escalated to widespread rioting, with numerous rioters damaging property and engaging riot police with Molotov cocktails, stones and other objects. Demonstrations and rioting soon spread to several other cities, including Thessaloniki, the country's second-largest city, and international cities in solidarity. Newspaper Kathimerini called the rioting "the worst Greece has seen since the restoration of democracy in 1974".[3]

While the unrest was triggered by the shooting incident, commentators[4][5][6] described the reactions as expressing deeper causes as well, especially a widespread feeling of frustration in the younger generation about specific economic problems of the country (partly as a result of the Great Recession), a rising unemployment rate among the young generation and a perception of general inefficiency and corruption in Greek state institutions.[7][8][9]

  1. ^ "POLICE TRIAL Two indicted over teen shooting". Kathimerini. Archived from the original on 16 June 2009. Retrieved 9 March 2010.
  2. ^ "More riots in Greece over fatal police shooting of teen". USA today. 7 December 2008. Archived from the original on 10 December 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
  3. ^ Christofer, Kat (8 December 2008). "Athenian democracy in ruins". The Guardian. UK. Archived from the original on 10 December 2008.
  4. ^ Dalakoglou, Dimitris (January 2011). "From Ruptures to Eruption: A Geneaology of the December 2008 Revolt in Greece". Revolt and Crisis in Greece. Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  5. ^ "Explainer: Why is there unrest in Greece?". CNN. 10 December 2008. Archived from the original on 17 December 2008. Retrieved 22 December 2008.
  6. ^ Dalakoglou, Dimitris. "The Crisis Before "The Crisis"". Social Justice. Archived from the original on 4 September 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  7. ^ "Behind the protests spreading across Greece". Economist. 9 December 2008. Archived from the original on 15 December 2008. Retrieved 12 December 2008.
  8. ^ "In Greece, a crisis decades in the making". International Herald Tribune. 11 December 2008. Archived from the original on 12 December 2008. Retrieved 12 December 2008.
  9. ^ Dalakoglou, Dimitris. "Introduction in Revolt and Crisis in Greece". Revolt and Crisis in Greece. Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2016.