On the beach of Kalamaki, south of Athens, a beach bar playing deafening music spreads out to the sea and leaves only a few square meters for holidaymakers who cannot or do not want to pay for deckchairs and parasols between 30 and 50 euros per day. Aggelos Pagalidis, a retiree who earns only 800 euros a month, is resisting in his own way the privatization of one of the beaches closest to the Greek capital: “With some friends, we have installed a parasol and plastic chairs, even if the owner of the bar doesn’t like it, and he even forbids us to pass in front of his establishment! » The former construction worker can no longer go on vacation to the islands, which are too expensive for him. “My only happiness is to come to the beach on the Athens Riviera”, he throws. “Access to the sea is a right guaranteed by Greek law, observes Christina Chatzi, a former shopkeeper. With the scorching temperatures this summer, it even becomes a necessity. »
In July, an unprecedented mobilization of citizens, since dubbed by the media the “towel movement”, is part of the island of Paros, in the Cyclades. In a country faced with hypertourism, more than 11,000 subscribers to the “Save Paros Beaches” Facebook page demand free and free access to the seaside. “With mass tourism, some low-income Greeks are considered second-class citizens with no right to vacations or even swimming, emphasizes Aggelos Pagalidis. This initiative to defend free access beaches is akin to a class struggle, with on one side the “towel defenders”, who cannot afford to pay for a set of deckchairs for two up to 100 euros the day, and, on the other, the beach attendants who earn millions every summer without even having permission! »
On the public television channel Ert, Andreas Kondylis, the mayor of Alimos, the town on which Kalamaki beach depends, assures that the owner of the establishment only had the concession for 60 square meters, while he now occupies 600. “We are asking for the possibility of imposing fines, explains the elected. We are on the side, we can intervene quickly, while the cadastral services in charge of the controls or the police are slow to come to note the infringements. »
Many irregularities
Greek law provides since 2020 that half of the beach can be reserved for deckchairs and umbrellas. Before this legislative change, only 40% could be rented by town halls – this figure drops to 30% in Natura 2000 classified protected sites. the water. And the music must not exceed 50 decibels. “The vast majority of deckchair rental companies do not respect these rules, laments Ilias Petrakis, one of the instigators of the movement in Paros. By dint of protesting, we managed to push one of them back to little Santa Maria, a beach located in a Natura area. 2000.”
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