February 12, 2012
Police fired teargas at protesters outside the Greek parliament as MPs began debating the deeply unpopular bailout deal setting out €3.3bn in wage, pension and job cuts as the price of a €130bn (£108bn) rescue package from the EU and the International Monetary Fund.
Thousands of protesters gathered in the square outside the national assembly building in Athens, but the demonstrations quickly turned ugly, with the crowds facing off against an estimated 6,000 riot police.
Parliamentarians are expected to approve the deal. Greece needs the rescue package – the country's second since 2010 – before 20 March to meet debt repayments of €14.5bn. But the bill has stirred anger on the streets and turmoil within the Greek coalition government.
During the debate a communist MP hurled the pages of the bill on to the floor of the chamber and in fiery exchanges the finance minister, Evangelos Venizelos, warned MPs: "If the law is not passed, the country will go bankrupt."
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