Thousands of students, teachers, and university staff marched through central Athens on Wednesday, rallying outside Parl...

Thousands of students, teachers, and university staff marched through central Athens on Wednesday, rallying outside Parliament to demand more state funding for public education, with some carrying banners in French and singing songs currently echoing at protests in France. The demonstration gathered on Panepistimiou Street shortly after noon and reached Parliament by early afternoon. Students brought musical instruments and performed Bella Ciao alongside French protest songs, while a group near Parliament unfurled a banner reading "La beauté est dans la rue," one of the defining slogans of the May 1968 uprising in France. A teacher at the rally said the French references came entirely from the students themselves. The kids organised it and chose the songs after hearing them at the ongoing protests in France, the teacher explained. The rally was backed by major union action. The teachers' federations DOE and POSEEPEA called a full 24-hour strike, OLME held a 3-hour work stoppage, and the broader civil service union ADEDY stopped work from 11:00. Hospital doctors through OENGE also staged a 24-hour strike in solidarity. The protesters' demands included a significant increase in state education funding, student welfare and housing support, the filling of thousands of unfilled teacher vacancies, permanent contracts for substitute teachers, and the construction of modern, structurally safe school buildings. After the main rally ended shortly after 14:00, a group of minors near Omonia Square threw stones at a riot police unit. Officers responded with one flash-bang grenade and tear gas, and four people were detained. #Athens #Education #Greece