Thousands of students, teachers and public school employees took to the streets in more than 50 Greek cities on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, to protest the high cost of living and rising rents, and to demand a major increase in state funding for public education.
In Athens, protesters gathered at the Propylaea, the historic entrance to the University of Athens, before marching to the parliament building. Organisers put the crowd at more than 15,000. Police and state broadcaster ERT estimated around 10,000. Teachers, doctors and public-sector education workers joined the students, and several thousand more demonstrated in Thessaloniki, Patras, Larissa and other cities.
The protesters are demanding the hiring of new staff to fill thousands of school vacancies, an increase in state funding to bring education spending to 5 percent of GDP, improvements to school infrastructure and higher salaries. They also want the 13th and 14th month salaries restored, class sizes reduced and school buildings made safer. University students are calling for lower rents, higher housing subsidies, more places in student dormitories and the repeal of legislation on student expulsions.
The crowd carried banners in Greek and French. One read: “From Greece to France, give money to education.” Others held cardboard signs in French that said: “To study or to survive.”
Engineering student Panagiotis Moschonas, 20, criticised the conservative government for not doing enough to help students cope with rising costs. “It says that it is allegedly helping students, with a rent subsidy of 120 euros ($135) per month. That isn’t even enough for half a rent, and it’s also given at the end of the year,” he said.
The demonstrations followed two days of action that began on Tuesday, when students pitched tents in Syntagma Square outside parliament. They said the camp would remain until their demands are met. Similar tent protests were set up in Thessaloniki, Patras and Ioannina.
Primary school teachers held a 24-hour nationwide strike, while secondary school teachers staged a three-hour work stoppage. Hospital doctors and public-sector workers also walked out after a call by the ADEDY trade union confederation, which said the action was meant to show solidarity with the education protests and allow parents to join the rallies.
Greek police deployed about 3,000 officers in central Athens. Around 20 people were detained for questioning before the march began, according to police sources, and ERT reported 21 detentions during preventive checks. The main march ended peacefully shortly before 2 p.m., but clashes broke out towards the end of the demonstration around Omonia Square. Police used tear gas and stun grenades after youths threw stones and Molotov cocktails. One officer was captured on video throwing a stun grenade into the Omonia metro station as demonstrators were leaving the area.
The protests echo a wave of student and youth demonstrations across Europe in recent weeks, particularly in France, Italy and Albania, where housing costs, stagnant wages and education funding have become flashpoints. In Athens, stores and cafes along the march route rolled down their steel shutters as a precaution.
The Greek education union OLME says there are at least 15,000 unfilled teaching positions in the country, and that teachers’ salaries are too low for dignified living. The union has also rejected recent changes to the high school examination system and university admissions.
The government has not publicly responded to the specific demands. The protests are expected to continue, with student associations saying the tent camp at Syntagma will stay in place.
