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Rioters threw petrol bombs and vandalised cars on Thursday night in Athens as left-wing supporters vented their anger over the newly elected government’s perceived capitulation to Brussels.
Approximately 450 people took part in the first anti-government march in Greece since the election of a coalition government, headed by radical left-wing party Syriza, took office.
Video capturing the scenes shows roughly 50 protesters throwing what appear to be Molotov cocktails, burning cars and vandalising the streets of Athens as police – in riot gear – attempt to contain them.
Left-wing hardliners have been angered by Prime Minister Alexi Tsipras agreement with EU and IMF partners to extend the 240 billion-euro bailout programme to the bankrupt nation.
Mr Tsipras, who only a month ago was promising enraptured supporters that half of the Greek debt would be written off and that the country was “finished with orders from abroad”, now faces a very different climate.
Even members of his party Syriza have expressed some doubts about the latest agreement.
The new Greek leader has been forced to weaken on his demands for a reduction in debt, pledges to reverse privatisation and anti-austerity promises.
Greece elections 2015: In picturesShow all 25 1 /25Greece elections 2015: In pictures Greece elections 2015: In pictures Greece elections 2015 A supporter of Alexis Tsipras, leader of Syriza left-wing party, holds the Greek and French flag during a rally outside Athens University Headquarters in Athens
Greece elections 2015: In pictures Greece elections 2015 Supporters of Alexis Tsipras, leader of Syriza left-wing party, cheer during a rally outside Athens University Headquarters in Athens
Greece elections 2015: In pictures Greece elections 2015 Alexis Tsipras, leader of Syriza left-wing party, speaks during a rally outside Athens University Headquarters in Athens
Greece elections 2015: In pictures Greece elections 2015 Supporters of Alexis Tsipras, leader of Syriza left-wing party, cheer during a rally outside Athens University Headquarters in Athens
Greece elections 2015: In pictures Greece elections 2015 Alexis Tsipras, opposition leader and head of radical leftist Syriza party, greets supporters after the initial election results for the Greece general elections in Athens
Greece elections 2015: In pictures Greece elections 2015 Supporters of Germany's left-wing Die Linke party, hold placards as they show their support to Alexis Tsipras, leader of Syriza left-wing party after his speech to supporters in central Athens
Greece elections 2015: In pictures Greece elections 2015 A woman waves a Greek flag during a speech by the leader of Syriza left-wing party Alexis Tsipras outside Athens University Headquarters
Greece elections 2015: In pictures Greece elections 2015 Anti austerity Syriza party supporters celebrate as leader Alexis Tsipras speaks folllowing victory in the election in Athens
Greece elections 2015: In pictures Greece elections 2015 Greece's Conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras waves to his supporters as he arrivess at Zappeio Conference Hall in Athens
Greece elections 2015: In pictures Greece elections 2015 Supporters of New Democracy wave Greek flags during Antonis Samaras pre-election speech
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Greece elections 2015: In pictures Greece elections 2015 A voter casts his ballot in front of a map of Greece at a polling station in a school in Athens
Greece elections 2015: In pictures Greece elections 2015 A woman casts her ballot at a polling station in a school in a suburb of Athens near Athens
Greece elections 2015: In pictures Greece elections 2015 Supporters of the opposition radical leftist Syriza party cheer at exit poll results which indicate that Syriza have a clear lead in in Athens
Greece elections 2015: In pictures Greece elections 2015 Anti-austerity Syriza supporters celebrate after the first exit polls, as they gather at the Syriza election kiosk in Athens
Greece elections 2015: In pictures Greece elections 2015 Media crew set up in the balconies of a hotel overlooking the Greek Parliament building in Athens
Greece elections 2015: In pictures Greece elections 2015 Political party papers are organised at a polling station in a school in Athens
Greece elections 2015: In pictures Greece elections 2015 The Greek flag flies on top of the Greek parliament in Athens, as the nation goes to the polls. Greece votes in a crucial general election that could bring the anti-austerity Syriza party to power and lead to a re-negotiation of the country's international bailout
Greece elections 2015: In pictures Greece elections 2015 Alexis Tsipras is welcomed as he arrives for a pre-election campaign speech
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Greece elections 2015: In pictures Greece elections 2015 Prime Minister and leader of the conservative New Democracy party Antonis Samara delivers a pre-election speech
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Greece elections 2015: In pictures Greece elections 2015 The Leader of Pasok (Panhellenic Socialist Movement) Evangelos Venizelos speaks during a parliament meeting in December 2014
AP
Greece elections 2015: In pictures Greece elections 2015 Alexis Tsipras, head of the Syriza left-wing main opposition party, on the campaign trail
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Greece elections 2015: In pictures Greece elections 2015 Election posters for the communist party adorn a derelict shop in Athens
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Greece elections 2015: In pictures Greece elections 2015 Ballet dancers, performing for a film in Athens, dance in front of the Parliament building ahead of the general election
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Greece elections 2015: In pictures Greece elections 2015 Workers put up polling station signs at a school in Athens
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Greece elections 2015: In pictures Greece elections 2015 Supporters cheer as head of the conservative New Democracy party Antonis Samara arrives at the Taekwondo Indoor Stadium in Athens to give a pre-election address
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But he has gained a lower budget surplus for the year – allowing him to divert vital resources to helping those on, or below, the bottom line – and a number of semantic victories, such as removal of the hated words “bailout” and “troika” to “loan” and “institutions”.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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