The Greek government is closely monitoring developments in Spain and particularly in France, where student demonstrations and youth unrest have erupted, while simultaneously watching efforts to replicate this wave of mobilizations domestically. Today, for example, several student unions in Athens are organizing an afternoon protest rally outside the Ministry of Finance, with plans to pitch tents in Syntagma Square and spend the night there. Their core demands center on the rising cost of education and student housing. Meanwhile, school occupations have begun in several schools across the country, though the percentage remains in single digits nationwide.
Read also: Scenes of chaos in France: New student uprising at Bastille over education, clashes with police and tear gas (Images & Video)
Tsipras expresses solidarity with student mobilizations
At the same time, Alexis Tsipras has declared his support for the announced mobilizations. ELAS (the Greek Communist Party’s student wing) issued a statement emphasizing that “the demands of students, aligned with the mobilizations in France, raise a critical point: supporting public education means supporting the everyday lives of young people — not just so they can gain university admission, but so they can actually afford to study there.”
Zacharaki: Dialogue with students, not school occupations
When asked in her latest interview about the possibility of student mobilizations spreading to Greece — as seen in other European countries — Education Minister Sofia Zacharaki stressed that she is actively seeking direct communication with students and encouraging their participation in the public dialogue on education.
She affirmed that students have every right to voice criticism, make demands, and hold the state accountable. However, she made clear that shutting down schools is not a solution to the problems at hand — signaling the government’s first line of defense should such mobilizations gain momentum. “I believe that a school occupation — and I want to be clear on this — is the most antisocial measure that can exist,” she stated emphatically. She explained that interrupting classes creates inequalities among students, as not all of them have the means to compensate through private tutoring or other alternatives. She has also announced plans to invite 15-member student councils to the Ministry of Education for face-to-face discussions about the issues affecting them.
On the question of school staffing, Minister Zacharaki highlighted that approximately 53,000 permanent teacher appointments have been made over the past seven years, as part of the government’s effort to provide public schools with a stable workforce. It is no coincidence that yesterday, at the opening of the regular government press briefing, government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis devoted considerable time to education policy achievements before taking questions from journalists. Among other points, he noted that “ensuring access to education for all children, regardless of where they live, is a government priority.” According to the figures presented by Mr. Marinakis, “approximately 95% of school classes in Greece operate with up to 25 students, and in many cases the number does not exceed 13 or 14,” while “in the area of school infrastructure, 669 schools have already been renovated, with a target of reaching 2,000 by the summer of 2028. In addition, more than 500 schools are scheduled for renovation in the summer of 2027 through the ‘Marietta Giannakou’ programme.”
