Local media report 72 people arrested and one police officer injured
Athens was engulfed in flames as a Molotov-wielding mobs clashed with riot police turning a popular neighbourhood into a warzone.
Shocking footage shows around 50 people launching petrol bombs and fireworks at officers in Exarchia, a favourite holiday spot for Britons that is likened to London’s Soho.
Twenty-one cars and several motorcycles were torched outside a police station as battles erupted late on Saturday.
Officers responded with tear gas and flash grenades but a house and a shop were damaged.
Police detained 72 people and reported one officer was injured during the mayhem, Greek channel EPTNews reported on Sunday citing security sources.
Witnesses said the unrest reportedly began after a music event in a local park and the riots quickly spread to adjacent streets.
Εξαρχεια τώρα ???? #exarchia #fires #police pic.twitter.com/uIe1Z7OH8I
— Pantelis Koimtzoglou (@pkoimtzo) April 12, 2025
Greek Police said: “Incidents occurred on Saturday night in Exarchia where unknown persons attacked police forces.
“The incidents began shortly before midnight when groups of unknown persons attacked police forces at the intersection of Kallidromiou and E. Benaki streets with Molotov cocktails and stones, with the police responding by using chemical weapons.”
It happened a couple of days after a bomb exploded in central Athens after authorities received a tip from an anonymous caller.
The blast took place outside the Hellenic Train offices – Greece‘s main railway company – which was involved in a 2023 rail disaster that killed 57 people.
Many relatives and political parties accuse the rail company and the conservative government of neglecting the country’s transport system.
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