Greeks protest for free beaches

2023-08-17 17:54:00

Greece fight private beach companies: Greeks protest for freely accessible beaches

A beach on the Greek island of Paros

© pkazmierczak / Getty Images

The “towel movement” is targeting entrepreneurs who are taking over large parts of Greek beaches in order to rent out expensive loungers there. The beach is there for everyone.

Live where others spend their holidays? One likes to think of it as a dream come true. But while the people who actually inhabit the Greek islands all year round and can enjoy beautiful sights every day, there are also tangible disadvantages. And one is currently gaining the upper hand, at least according to the residents.

For some time there has been dissatisfaction on particularly popular islands such as Crete, Corfu, Naxos and Paros, but also on the mainland. To the one there The “towel movement” is causing a stir on the beaches. Citizens are fighting back against private companies that have been claiming entire beaches for themselves for several years. They provide them with sun loungers and parasols, and loud music is often played there. The use of the beach is of course not (anymore) free of charge: Up to 100 euros per day are required, sometimes even more.

Greece: Trouble with paid beach sections

Actually, the Greek beaches are for everyone and freely accessible. However, residents complain that more and more licenses have recently been distributed to private companies. And these often do not stick to the assigned sections, but often take up significantly more area. Citizens of the island of Paros now compared aerial photos of the beaches with the contracts that the government concluded with the companies. As the “NZZ” writes, instead of the officially rented 7,200 square meters, a total of 18,800 square meters have been occupied. Illegal.

This procedure has the consequence that the locals as well as many tourists can no longer simply go to the beach with a bath towel. An annoying development for everyone – except the entrepreneurs. The “towel movement” doesn’t want to simply accept that – residents now regularly go to affected beaches and protest peacefully there in front of the sun loungers that have been set up. “Let’s get our beaches back,” they demand.

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Free beach access for all

On the one hand, people are concerned with taking a stand against the greed of the companies in question, as well as against the very negligent action taken by the authorities against those violations. They would only rarely check whether the beach lounger landlords were sticking to the areas assigned to them, and often immediately after checks, loungers would be set up outside the legal areas again, because those responsible don’t seem to be very afraid of the authorities. In addition, the “towel movement” is also about keeping access to the sea free for everyone – every Greek, every tourist should be able to enjoy the beaches without obstacles and for free.

Sources: “NZZ”, “FR”