Three people died in a fire at an Athens bank during riots on Wednesday, as an estimated 100,000 protesters took to the streets against government spending cuts. The fire brigade found the bodies in the wreckage of a Marfin Bank branch that had been fire-bombed by protesters in the city centre.
The violence erupted during a nationwide general strike against austerity measures imposed as a condition of bail-out loans from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. Protesters hurled Molotov cocktails at police and buildings, with at least two buildings set alight. Hundreds of people clashed with riot police, while others marched peacefully.
Prime Minister George Papandreou announced on Sunday cuts to civil service salaries and pensions, along with consumer tax increases, to secure the loans. The measures aim to save 30 billion euros (£26bn) by 2012. Unions argue that low-income Greeks will bear the brunt of the cuts.
In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel urged parliament to quickly approve the country's 22 billion euro (£19bn) share of the bail-out, warning that the future of Europe is at stake. Greece faces a 19 May debt repayment deadline it cannot meet without the funds.
The IMF's Dominique Strauss-Kahn expressed understanding for the Greek anger but stressed that without the measures, the situation would be far worse. The draft austerity bill is being discussed in Parliament.
