Cretan farmers clash with riot police in Athens

About 1,300 Cretan farmers arrived in Athens overnight, armed with shepherd’s crooks and stones and clashed with riot police outside the agriculture ministry, which was sealed off by police buses.

Tempers reached boiling point after reports spread among the assembled crowd that officials had refused to see a delegation from the farmers, witnesses claim.

Greek media reported that a number of farmers charged the building and smashed windows of two parked police buses, with police responding by using tear gas, dispersing demonstrators into side streets.

Riot police remained at the scene, with some demonstrators occasionally appearing to hurl stones at them.

Farmers have been engaged in a long-running feud with Greek authorities over social security laws introduced in mid-2016 which force them to pay on imputed earnings upfront, and higher pension contributions.

Greek officials are in a ninth day of negotiations in Athens with representatives of the country’s European creditors and the IMF on new required cutbacks, including further tax and pension reforms.