Protests persist in EU countries

Thousands in France and Greece have poured into streets to protest against government corruption and austerity measures, drawing inspiration from Spain’s M-15 movement.

In Paris, hundreds took part in a protest rally at the Bastille Square, in solidarity with demonstrators in Spain calling for a popular democratic uprising among Europeans, while some 20,000 Greek protesters gathered near the parliament building in Athens demanding similar efforts.

French protesters have also camped out in the cities of Toulouse and Bayonne to express their opposition to the rising unemployment rate and corruption in France.

Greek protesters have been staging rallies for five consecutive days, demonstrating against the government’s tight austerity measures imposed to rid the country of its debt of EUR 330 billion (USD 467 billion). Greece received an international bailout package of 110-billion (USD 157 billion) last year.

Meanwhile, Spanish protesters have vowed to stay at Madrid’s central Puerta del Sol square, until the demands of the people are acknowledged.

Demonstrators have been chanting slogans in support of Greek and French protesters.

In Spain, protests began after the government of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodrigues Zapatero introduced a series of austerity measures to reduce the national deficit. The massive protests have been reportedly inspired by recent revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt.

The measures include the cutting of civil servant wages, as part of a new plan to curb the budget deficit from 11 percent a year earlier to within three percent of the GDP, a limit set by the European Union by 2013.