Greece: thousands demand education reform and affordable student housing

Students and teachers held wide-scale protests across Greece demanding reform of public education and affordable student housing, amid a wave of cost-of-living protests that spread from France to other European countries.

Students and teachers held wide-scale protests across Greece on Wednesday, Oct. 21, demanding reform of public education, as a wave of cost-of-living protests that began in France spread to other European countries.

About 10,000 people gathered in Athens alone, according to police estimates, and protests extended to Thessaloniki, Patras, Larissa and Crete. Teachers went on strike, while some schools continued to operate.

Housing crisis at the heart of the protests

The housing crisis topped protesters' demands, with university students staging a sit-in in tents in Syntagma Square outside parliament to call for rent controls, along with demands for a bigger education budget, smaller classes and better school buildings.

Protesters said they were inspired by the demonstrations in France. The protests come at a sensitive time for Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' government, which is preparing for elections in mid-2027.