Athens coastal avenue closed as students clash with riot police

University students clashed with riot police in the southern Athenian suburb of Kavouri on Friday during a protest march that prompted the closure of part of Poseidonos Avenue.

Dozens of students had gathered on the thoroughfare on Friday morning for a rally outside a hotel where the country’s university rectors were holding a meeting.

The clashes started when a small group of students tried to break through the police cordon and force their way into the seaside hotel.

Police had earlier closed off a stretch of the east-bound section of Poseidonos Avenue at the level of Kavouri and diverted traffic into the Vari-Koropi highway, causing major traffic jams in the wider vicinity.