"Crowns" everywhere: Greeks are tired of lockdown

Last weekend, about a thousand people gathered in Agios Georgios Square in Kipseli – a party until the morning with drinks and a DJ did not at all remind of the lockdown in force in the country.

Parked cars in the surrounding streets blocked traffic, and some of the party members were wearing no masks.

Such parties, called “coronapartis” in Greece, take place every night throughout Athens, with hundreds of young people enjoying drinks in their hands to music, causing concern among experts as the pandemic continues to rage across the country.

On Sunday evening, April 18, the party took place in Emilios Veakis Square in Peristeri. The video shows crowds of people with drinks in their hands on the sidewalks and the roadway. Between them, cars race with deafening sounds.

Music plays loudly from the car speakers. Residents complain that after the parties are over, sidewalks and porches turn into alcohol-smelling dumps with plastic cups, cans and bottles everywhere.

Similar parties were organized on weekends in Volos and Rhodes.

Vice-President of the Athens Police Association Nikos Rigas told Mega on air. “We saw this during the first lockdown in Agia Paraskevi. Some people, either out of fatigue or because they do not believe in measures, organize these parties in the squares on the Internet. These parties endanger their lives and the lives of others. It is impossible to protect dozens of squares in Athens and other cities in Greece, ”he said.

The police try not to interfere with such parties, realizing that it is possible to cope with 100 participants. But with thousands or tens of thousands it will no longer work, and massive repressions can only aggravate the situation, just as it happened in Nea Smyrni on March 9.

However, this does not mean that the authorities turn a blind eye to such things. If the party is small, its organizers have a serious chance to get into the bullpen and receive a fine of 3000 or more euros, and each participant will be at least “punished” by 300 euros, like this occurred today in the metropolitan area of ​​Peristeri.

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