RIOT POLICE guarding the Greek national parliament fired tear gas at hooded protesters here as rising opposition to a drastic series of budget cuts spilled onto the streets.
Trouble flared during a largely peaceful mass rally when a group of militant youths ran at the entrance to the parliament, hurling missiles and petrol bombs.
Police responded with volleys of tear gas, creating a choking sensation in the throat and a burning one in the eyes. Their adversaries wore gas masks, suggesting they were intent on trouble. And trouble they caused, taking aim at symbols of wealth, power and capitalism wherever they found them.
Prime minister George Papandreou has angered Greeks by imposing tax rises and pay cuts as he yields to pressure to rectify his wayward budget deficit. Tens of thousands of workers took part in a national strike yesterday, the second in a fortnight to halt transport and health services.
"I'm very angry. My income is reducing. I blame the Greek government mainly, not the problem of the worldwide crisis," said Vassilis Kaberis, a civil engineer in his 50s who was marching in a group well ahead of the militants.
Echoing views heard elsewhere in the crowds, he held out little prospect that the protests would force change on Mr Papandreou or lead to wider unrest.
"The people are angry and furious about these measures, but I don't think they are going to change the situation."
Greece's near bankruptcy has stoked old political forces, however. Communists, who still command about 4 per cent of the vote, have called for the overthrow of the government. Anarchism remains potent too, the credo's red and black flag hoisted high by dozens of protesters yesterday.
The militants smashed in the front windows of the ritzy Hotel Grande Bretagne, where well-dressed guests peered from balconies at the rally below.
When a young man pulled a surveillance camera from its perch and trampled on it, the crowd cheered him on.
Nearby, a protester daubed the legend "Burn Here" on a department store shutter as others took aim with their bricks at a Rolex stockist. Down the street, they chiselled at the marble steps of the Greek central bank, throwing red paint on its pillars.
From commercial bank buildings they tore away concrete slabs. Then they set fire to rubbish bins, the caustic smell of petrol and smoke lingering long afterwards.
They taunted the police, calling them "instruments of the plutocrats". The police, however, seemed determined to keep their distance. As the protest fizzled out, a battalion of uniformed motorcyclists coralled the protesters away from the city centre.
