THE unrest that has gripped Greece this week is spilling into the rest of Europe, raising concerns that it could be a trigger for opponents of globalisation, disaffected youth and others outraged by economic turmoil.
Protesters in Spain, Denmark and Italy smashed shop windows, pelted police with bottles and attacked banks this week, while in France cars were set ablaze on Thursday outside the Greek consulate in Bordeaux, where protesters warned about a looming
"insurrection".
At least some of the protests were organised over the internet. One website Greek protesters use to update each other on the locations of clashes asserted there have been sympathy protests in nearly 20 countries.
But the clashes have been nothing like the scope of the chaos in Greece, which was triggered by the police killing of a teenager last Saturday and has ballooned into nightly scenes of burning street barricades, looted stores and overturned cars. Nevertheless, authorities in Europe worry conditions are ripe for the contagion to spread.
As Europe plunges into recession, unemployment is rising, particularly among the young. Even before the crisis, European youths complained about difficulty finding well-paid jobs – even with a university degree.
"Look what is going on in Greece," Nicolas Sarkozy, the president of France, told members of his UMP party this week, rejecting budget proposals that would have cushioned the wealthy from losses.
With memories fresh of weeks of rioting in 2005, Mr Sarkozy expressed concern that the anti-government backlash could spread to France: "The French love it when I'm in a carriage with Carla, but at the same time they've guillotined a king."
At the Athens Polytechnic, where many of the protesters are based, Konstantinos Sakkas, 23, said: "We're encouraging non- violent action. What these are abroad are spontaneous expressions of solidarity."
Internet sites and blogs have popped up to spread the call to protest. In Spain, Nodo50.org, an anti-globalisation website, greeted visitors with the headline "State Assassin, Police Executioners" and told them of rallies in Barcelona and Madrid.
At the Independent Media Centre, photos and video of the Greek demonstrations were uploaded and plans were listed for "upcoming solidarity actions" in London, Edinburgh and Berlin.
"What's happening in Greece tends to prove that the extreme left exists, contrary to doubts of some," said a French interior ministry spokesman. But, he added, the coming weeks would determine whether "there's a danger of contagion of the Greek situation into France".
One rally outside the Greek embassy in Rome turned violent on Wednesday, while in Copenhagen, protesters pelted riot police with bottles and paint.
In Spain, youths in Madrid and Barcelona attacked banks, shops and a police station. Eleven people were arrested at the two rallies, which drew about 200 protesters.
Daniel Lostao, president of the Youth Council, an umbrella organisation, said young people in Spain faced daunting challenges – soaring unemployment, low salaries and difficulty in leaving the family nest because of expensive housing. But he doubted the protests in Spain would grow. "We do not have the feeling that this is going to spread."
BACKGROUNDGREECE'S headline rate of unemployment – 7.4 per cent in September – is just below the eurozone average.
The key factor, however, is unemployment among those aged 15 to 24, which is 22 per cent.
"Young Greeks up to the age of 35, make up a silent majority of overworked, underpaid, debt-ridden and insecure citizens," said Generation 700 Euros, a group defending the 56 per cent of Greeks under 30 earning that amount a month.
The full article contains 592 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
