Exarchia Square being spruced up ahead of Christmas

City of Athens employees got started Thursday on works to revamp Exarchia Square ahead of Christmas. The works include installing holiday-themed lights and decorations, repairing a marble statue that has been badly vandalized, replacing broken streetlights and cleaning up both the square and the surrounding area. The initiative comes after a police crackdown on lawlessness in the area, which is known as an anarchist stronghold. “It is just another square that needs cleaning, repairs, lighting and gardening,” Athens Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis said. [ANA-MPA]