Tear gas and police batons marked the visit of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to Kozani, as riot police cracked down on protesters demonstrating against the region’s ongoing decline.

According to local outlet kozan.gr, the protest took place outside the Kardia Power Plant. It was organised by trade unions representing Public Power Corporation (DEI) workers, along with the Labour Centres of Kozani, Ptolemaida, and Florina, local government officials, and concerned citizens. The protestors had gathered to express their anger over what they see as the gradual downgrading and abandonment of the region.

The demonstrators attempted to approach the PM to voice their concerns directly, but police forces blocked their way. When protestors tried to break through the cordon and get closer to the site of the event, riot police units (MAT) responded with tear gas, despite the presence of elderly individuals among the crowd. Several demonstrators were injured in the chaos, including Tina Kouziaki, a local councillor with the Communist Party’s “People’s Rally” faction, as well as a journalist from the newspaper Rizospastis.

“The unprovoked attack by riot police—with tear gas and flash-bang grenades—on the peaceful mobilisation of workers’ unions is unacceptable,” said the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) in a statement. “The PM’s visit, alongside DEI CEO Giorgos Stassis, to the Kardia Power Plant amounts to a return to the scene of the crime.”

“The people of this region are not only being made to pay the price for lignite phase-out, the liberalisation of the energy market, and the so-called green transition—but are also met with state violence when they rightfully protest against it.”

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