Riot police clash with antifascist protesters in Thessaloniki before Kasidiaris event

Police ban and calls to gather

Greek police banned public outdoor gatherings across a large part of central Thessaloniki from 09:00 to 21:00 on Wednesday, 28 October, citing public safety and the need to prevent serious incidents. The restriction was announced the evening before. Left-wing organisations, anti-authoritarian collectives and labour unions close to PAME had called antifascist gatherings at the Venizelos statue for 15:30 and 16:00. Their target was a planned speech by Ilias Kasidiaris, a former Golden Dawn member, at a hotel in the city. Reports name the hotel as Kapsis and place the speech at 17:00. Several outlets reported that protesters tried to march toward the hotel despite the ban, while riot police, known as MAT, were deployed in strength around the centre.

Clashes on Egnatia Street

Clashes broke out in the afternoon on Egnatia Street near the Venizelos statue. According to SKAI, police had been ordered to block passage along the street, and demonstrators tried to break through the cordon. Reports place the confrontation at the height of Aristotelous. RThess.gr reported members of the anti-authoritarian space clashing with MAT officers, while in.gr described hand-to-hand fighting that developed in the centre. Traffic on Egnatia was halted in both directions at the statue, and the rise toward Angelaki also remained closed.

Police response and detentions

Police pushed the crowd back and used tear gas on Egnatia Street, according to SKAI. iefimerida reported that protesters opened a stone-throwing exchange and that police answered with chemicals. Local media cited by in.gr reported two detentions, while To Vima reported that MAT officers used chemicals and carried out detentions without giving a figure. A NEWS 24/7 headline also described beatings by MAT officers, though its text reports only tension with PAME members and tear gas use. The articles provide no injury figures and no official statement on the clashes.

Metro and traffic disruption

Six stations of the Thessaloniki Metro were closed during the disruption: Nea Sidirodromikos Stathmos, Dimokratias, Venizelou, Agias Sofias, Syntrivani and Panepistimio. The metro closures were reported alongside the traffic stoppages on Egnatia Street. The articles do not say when the stations reopened. The timeline below sets out the scheduled points of the day.

What remains open

The articles do not say whether the 17:00 speech went ahead or whether the ban was extended past 21:00. The most recent reports were published between 14:01 and 14:41 UTC, so the number of detentions and the state of the clashes after that time are not covered here. The reports so far describe a standoff between protesters and police rather than a settled outcome.