Anti-austerity movement in Greece

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Anti-austerity movement in Greece
Part of the European sovereign debt crisis and the impact of the Arab Spring[1][2]
A police officer flees rock throwers; a crowd assembles peacefully in Syntagma Square in front of parliament
Date	5 May 2010 – 18 October 2012
Location	Greece
Caused by	Unemployment, inflation, corruption, 2010–2011 Greek debt crisis, IMF presence in the country, harsh austerity measures with welfare cuts, bipartidism, particracy, democracy deficit
Methods	Demonstrations, strike action, sit-ins, occupations, insurrection, civil disobedience, police violence
Casualties
Death(s)	5 May 2010: 3 20 October 2011: 1 4 April 2012 : 1 18 October 2012 : 1
Injuries	28–29 June 2011: over 270[3] 12 February 2012: over 40[4] 5 April 2012 : 1 (Marios Lolos)[5]

The anti-austerity movement in Greece involved a series of demonstrations and general strikes that took place across the country. The events, which began on 5 May 2010, were provoked by plans to cut public spending and raise taxes as austerity measures in exchange for a €110 billion bail-out, aimed at solving the Greek government-debt crisis. Three people were killed on 5 May in one of the largest demonstrations in Greece since 1973.

On 25 May 2011 (2011-05-25), anti-austerity activists organised by the Direct Democracy Now! movement, known as the Indignant Citizens Movement (Greek: Κίνημα Αγανακτισμένων Πολιτών, Kínima Aganaktisménon-Politón), started demonstrating in major cities across Greece. This second wave of demonstrations proved different from the years before^[6][7] in that they were not partisan^[8] and began through peaceful means.^[9] Some of the events later turned violent, particularly in the capital city of Athens.^{[10][11][12][13]} Inspired by the anti-austerity protests in Spain, these demonstrations were organised entirely using social networking sites, which earned it the nickname "May of Facebook".^[14] The demonstrations and square sit-ins were officially ended when municipal police removed demonstrators from Thessaloniki's White Tower square on 7 August 2011.^{[citation needed]}

On 29 June 2011, violent clashes occurred between the riot police and activists as the Greek parliament voted to accept the EU's austerity requirements. Incidents of police brutality were reported by international media such as the BBC, The Guardian, CNN iReport and The New York Times, as well as by academic research^[15] and organisations Amnesty International.^{[16][17][18][19][20][21][22]} The Athens Prosecutor agreed to an investigation into accusations of excessive use of tear gas, as well as the alleged use of other expired and carcinogenic chemical substances. As of 2011^[update], the investigation was under way.^[23]