Greece gripped by general strike over austerity package
One protester told the BBC's Jon Sopel: "We have the power in our hands"
A 48-hour general strike has begun in Greece, as parliament prepares for a key vote on tough austerity measures.
Thousands of protesters have gathered outside the parliament in Athens and public transport in the capital has largely ground to a halt.
PM George Papandreou said Monday only his 28bn-euro (£25bn) austerity plan would get Greece back on its feet.
If the government loses, the EU and IMF could withhold 12bn euros of loans and Greece could run out of money in weeks.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said French banks are ready to offer new 30-year loans to Greece when its current debts fall due.
He said other European countries whose banks had lent money to Greece were considering the same model to help prevent a default.
'Massacre' Continue reading the main storyWhat went wrong in Greece?
- Greece's economic reforms, which led to it abandoning the drachma as its currency in favour of the euro in 2002, made it easier for the country to borrow money.
- Greece went on a big, debt-funded spending spree, including paying for high-profile projects such as the 2004 Athens Olympics, which went well over its budget.
- The country was hit by the downturn, which meant it had to spend more on benefits and received less in taxes. There were also doubts about the accuracy of its economic statistics.
- Greece's economic problems meant lenders started charging higher interest rates to lend it money. Widespread tax evasion also hit the government's coffers.
- There have been demonstrations against the government's austerity measures to deal with its debt, such as cuts to public sector pay and pensions, reduced benefits and increased taxes.
- The government has already had to access a 110bn euro (£95bn; $146.2bn) bail-out package from the European Union and International Monetary Fund, and now needs a second bail-out.
- Eurozone ministers are worried that if Greece were to default it would make it even more difficult for other countries such as Portugal and the Irish Republic to borrow money.
The general strike has halted most public services, with doctors, ambulance drivers, journalists and even state-funded actors taking part. Banks are closed and hospitals are operating on skeleton staff.
Airports are shutting for hours at a time, with air traffic controllers walking out between 0800 and 1200 (0500-0900 GMT) and 1800 and 2200 (1500-1900 GMT). Athens international airport displayed a number of flights being cancelled from 0730.
Trains, buses and ferries are also affected.
More than 5,000 police officers are due to be deployed in the centre of Athens as the protesters march towards parliament.
Protesters have blockaded the port of Pireus, near Athens, which links most Greek islands with the mainland.
"The situation that the workers are undergoing is tragic and we are near poverty levels," said Spyros Linardopoulos, a protester with the PAME union at the blockade.
"The government has declared war and to this war we will answer back with war."
In Athens, the metro is the only form of public transport which will work "so as to allow Athenians to join the planned protests in the capital", metro drivers said.
The unions are angry that the government's austerity programme will impose taxes on those earning the minimum wage, following months of other cuts which have seen unemployment rise to more than 16%.
At the scene
The first protesters are arriving on Syntagma Square in central Athens - there are some communists, some of the big unions. Traditionally their protests have been peaceful.
The key thing for them today is numbers. They've actually got to get hundreds of thousands of people out onto the streets to demonstrate in a sense what the polls are saying - that the majority of Greek people don't want to support the latest austerity measures.
One of the differences between last year and this year is the sheer frustration, the pent-up resentment about the fact that there is a second round of austerity.
Some protesters have said they will encircle the parliament building to prevent MPs from entering. The austerity package and implementation law must be passed in separate votes on Wednesday and Thursday.
Polls suggest that between 70% and 80% of Greek people oppose the austerity plan.
"We're opposed to what they're trying to do to us," said bank worker Kali Patouna. "We know very well that these measures will be our tombstone. They will have extreme consequences for workers and for everyone on all social levels."
If the measures are passed, the next instalment of Greece's 110bn-euro bail-out will be released by the European Union and International Monetary Fund.
European officials will also start to finalise the details of a second bail-out - worth an estimated 120bn euros - designed to help Greece pay its debts until the end of 2014.
The BBC's Chris Morris in Athens says defeat for the government this week would send ripples of anxiety right across the eurozone, with Greece facing the prospect next month of becoming the first member state to default on its debts.
'Flawed' plansAs the debate in parliament on the austerity measures began on Monday, the prime minister warned a defeat would mean the national coffers would be empty within days and urged MPs to do their "patriotic duty".
"Our vote is the only chance for the country to get back on its feet."
Greece: Crucial dates
- June 29: Greek parliament to vote on a new austerity package
- July 3: Eurozone deadline. EU will sign off latest bail-out payment to Greece - 12bn euros - if austerity package has passed
- July 15: Default deadline: Without the 12bn euros it needs to make debt repayments, Greece will default
Mr Papandreou added: "I call on Europe, for its part, to give Greece the time and the terms it needs to really pay off its debt, without strangling growth, and without strangling its citizens."
The new Finance Minister, Evangelos Venizelos, acknowledged that the cuts were "unfair" but said they were absolutely necessary.
He urged parties to work with the governing Panhellenic Socialist Movement (Pasok) because it would help build "greater national strength".
But the main opposition leader, Antonis Samaras of the New Democracy party, said the thinking behind the austerity package was flawed and that tax rates should be lowered rather than raised in order to stimulate the economy.
The outcome of the debate is uncertain. Mr Papandreou faces opposition from within Pasok, with two MPs saying they may oppose the bill.
The party has a slim majority, with 155 seats out of 300 in parliament.
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