Tens of thousands of protesters gathered Sunday around the Greek Parliament and some clashed with police a few hours of the vote by MPs on a bill consisting of austerity measures such drastic and unpopular required by the EU and the IMF in exchange for a new rescue plan.
Greek Prime Minister of Greece Lucas Papademos warned against the "economic chaos" in case of rejection, while Germany has warned that Greece should stop being a "well bottomless "`.
After three days of tension and political threats, Parliament began shortly after 14:00 (12:00 GMT) to examine the bill to save 3.3 billion euros thanks to lower wages, pensions and job cuts public.
The vote must take place before midnight (2200 GMT), said the finance minister, Evangelos Venizelos, "because on Monday morning, the banking and financial markets should have received the message that Greece can and will survive. "
"If the law is not adopted, the country will go bankrupt," warned the Minister that a Communist deputy threw the pages of the bill on the floor of the Assembly.
About twenty members of the coalition of Lucas Papademos have threatened in recent days to vote against the text and six government members submitted their resignations, but the Prime Minister will still theoretically supported by a large majority.
But the Greek population does not intend to accept the new austerity measures without saying anything.
"The Greek people RAISE"
Tens of thousands of people gathered in the afternoon around Parliament to lobby MPs, the largest mobilization for months.
"Enough is enough!" Exclaimed Manolis Glezos, 89, a veteran of the extreme left.
"They have no idea what it means to an uprising of the Greek people. And the Greek people, ideas all political persuasions, is beginning to lift, "said the hero of the resistance to the Nazis during World War II
.
"annihilation These measures will not go", he further promised, mouth covered by a mask to protect themselves from tear gas fired by police to de pledge Syntagma Square, Parliament
. Some protesters responded by throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at police ….. At least fourteen
…. protesters injured were taken to hospital, police said, and about fifty others treated on site , mostly for choking. At least eight policemen were also injured.
"There is tear gas into the interior of the Assembly," said an MP, Panagiotis Lafazanis.
The new austerity plan is the price to pay for the release of an aid program of 130 billion euros from the EU and the IMF – the second since 2010.
Greece has to touch the money before March 20 to repay a state loan of 14.5 billion euros.
"Bottomless well"
Germany has turned up the heat a notch Sunday warning that Europe expected actions and not words.
"The promises of Greece are no longer sufficient for us," warned the German finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble.
Referring to the new austerity plan in which the Greek deputies must vote this Sunday, the minister said in an interview published by the Welt am Sonntag that the previous did not e ; tee implemented in their entirety.
Wolfgang Schäuble said that the Germans are largely in favor of an international aid to Greece. "But it's important to say that it can be a bottomless pit. This is why the Greeks will finally have to clog the well. Then we can put something. At least people are now beginning to realize that it will not work with a bottomless pit.
"Greece must do its homework to become competitive, it requires a new rescue plan or some other way that we do not want to (…)" he says referring to an output the euro area.
Asked if such an outcome is possible, Wolfgang Schäuble responds: "Everything is in the hands of the Greeks themselves. But even in that event, on which no table, they remain an integral part of Europe ".
"We are pleased to offer our assistance, but we should not give others the impression that they have not done enough. Each state is responsible for itself," explains he said.