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9 October 2012
Last updated at
15:14
In pictures: Angry protests over German leader's Greek trip
Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaris welcomed German Chancellor Angela Merkel to Athens amid heavy security for her first visit there since the eurozone crisis erupted in 2009. The trip is considered a symbolic gesture of German support for Greece's continued EU membership.
Mrs Merkel is unpopular with many Greeks who blame Germany for forcing painful austerity measures on the debt-stricken nation. Some 7,000 police officers were placed on duty and protests banned within 100 metres of the chancellor's motorcade.
But outside the lockdown zone, thousands of people gathered in Syntagma Square near the Parliament to express their anger as Greece prepares to pass new cuts of 13bn euros (£10.5bn; $17bn) to qualify for more bailout cash.
Demonstrators openly vented their frustration over the crushing budget cuts with banners comparing the chancellor to Adolf Hitler and featuring slogans reading "No to the Fourth Reich".
The most recent figures recorded in June show that more than 50% of under-25s are currently unemployed. The wage cuts and tax hikes have slashed the country's economic output by a fifth.
While the Greek government insisted Mrs Merkel's visit showed her faith in the country's political and economic future, critics said her trip was merely a performance to politically support a collapsing coalition.
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