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The Mayor of Athens George Kaminis announced his intention to request compensation from the state for the damages that were caused in central Athens during the clashes last Wednesday.

He stated at today's meeting of the municipal council that those damages are amounting to "several hundred thousand euros. The municipality is unable to cover such an expense in the current financial situation."

For this purpose George Kaminis said he would request the responsible ministries to cover the cost of damages. If this does not happen he would seriously consider taking legal action for liability against the state.

The Mayor stressed that "large chunks of marble finishes and other places on Syntagma Square, fountains, railings and more were destroyed. The marble slabs, which cover the square, were destroyed by bars or burning fires. Similar damage was caused to the stairs leading to the monument of the Unknown Soldier on Amalias Boulevard."

George Kaminis noted that the marble benches in the square were also damaged and they were removed from municipal officials. Moreover, according to the Mayor, the fires, the smoke and the sprays that were used caused significant pollution.

According to the Mayor's associates, his decision to ask the state authorities to compensate the municipality is based on their obligation to take measures to protect municipal property. The request is similar to the option in the law enabling owners of commercial establishments to claim liability to the state when damages due to vandalism are caused.

The Mayor of Athens commented on the government reshuffling. "The change in the Ministry of the Interior was made in an original way, which actually led to the establishment of two ministries - one for the local government issues and another one for the civil servants issues. This means that we will have two interlocutors and the things are getting more complex."

George Kaminis’ comment indirectly considered the issues of municipal employees who are employed on temporary contracts and the efforts being made to employ them permanently.