Protest marches and rioting continued across Greece for a seventh day Friday and spread to other parts of Europe in an unprecedented spree against government driven by a young demographic of high school and college students as well as anarchists.

agence france-presse/getty images A youth attacks riot police with a steel fence outside the Greek parliament in central Athens. The death of Alexandros Grigoropoulos, a 15-year-old schoolboy, triggered the protest and has become crucible for working-class frustrations.

The political unrest began with the killing of a schoolboy by police officers, but has since snowballed into an anti-government movement in a time of economic meltdown.

Alexandros Grigoropoulos, 15, was fatally shot in Athens during clashes Dec. 6 between youths and a police patrol in a central neighborhood with a long tradition of anarchist activism and a transient community of drug addicts. The policeman charged with the killing claims his bullet ricocheted, while bystanders have stated that he aimed directly at the teenager.

A week into the riots, his death has become a flash point for accumulated popular frustrations over rising unemployment, stagnant incomes and systemic political corruption.

As calls grew for the resignation of Greece’s New Democracy government, leftists attacked Greek embassies across Europe, prompting fears that the unrest would spill into the rest of the European Union. Sympathy marches were held in Italy, Spain, Germany, Denmark and Russia.

Although Alexandros came from an affluent family without associations to anarchist or leftist circles, his death has become a crucible for working-class frustrations.

“He was no street kid,” said Nikos Kakarikas, a journalist who covers the Athens crime beat. “He grew up in a diplomatic district, and his mom had a jewelry store in one of Athens’ most exclusive streets.”

Greece’s worst civil unrest since the aftermath of military rule in 1974 has been called the “student intifada” by the media and has caused more than $265 million in damage to wrecked cars, torched shops and banks in cities of Greece, according to the Greek Commerce Confederation.

“Greece is a safe country,” said Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis in a pledge to guarantee the safety of his citizens and businesses. Mr. Karamanlis has resisted calls to resign over the protests.

The rioting also represents a coming of age for a generation considered to be the most politically apathetic since World War II. By the end of the week, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators had attacked police stations and occupied about 400 schools and university campuses across the country, protesting the teen’s killing and political corruption.

Washington Times