Thousands of students and teachers took to the streets across Greece on Wednesday, demanding higher state funding for education, better facilities and less-crowded classrooms, Reuters reported from Athens. About 10,000 demonstrators, including school and university students, rallied peacefully in central Athens and its suburbs, police said, with further rallies in cities across the country.
"From Greece to France, we want public, free education," protesters chanted as they gathered outside parliament, Reuters reported. Students had set up tents in Athens' Syntagma Square and staged an overnight protest before Wednesday's march, voicing solidarity with growing protests in France and elsewhere in Europe over soaring living costs and what they called crumbling school conditions.
Katia Koubousidou, head of a student union at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, told AFP: "In Greece like in France, we are demanding public, free education." She added: "This will not be a one-off protest. We have a plan to continue our demonstrations."
Schools and hospitals disrupted
State school and hospital operations were disrupted as some primary school teachers and doctors walked out in protest over pay and staff shortages, Reuters reported. Secondary school pupils and teachers are also protesting poor infrastructure and a shortage of staff, AFP reported.
Education Minister Sofia Zacharaki said before the protests that she was hearing students' demands, acknowledged that housing costs were putting pressure on Greek households, and said projects worth more than 733 million euros ($823 million) were underway for new student residences and facilities upgrades, according to Reuters. Yaani: 733 million euros means about 73 crore euros of building projects the government says are already underway.
The protests add pressure on Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' centre-right government, which faces elections in mid-2027, as Greeks struggle with stagnant wages, high rents and rising energy costs years after the country's debt crisis, Reuters reported.
Greece has recovered from its 2009-2018 debt crisis, when wages and education spending were cut under austerity in exchange for three international bailouts worth about 290 billion euros, Reuters noted. Yaani: 290 billion euros means 29,000 crore euros of bailout loans. Salaries have increased since, but real purchasing power for many Greeks is still among the lowest in the EU and has taken a fresh blow from rising inflation and soaring fuel prices linked to the Iran war, according to Reuters.
Sources: Reuters, Athens, October 21, 2026; AFP reporting carried by The News International, October 21-22, 2026.