Paros residents reclaim beaches
More than 250 residents on Paros defied the uncontrolled spread of privately run loungers and umbrellas on the popular Cycladic island’s coasts on Sunday, demanding space to put down their towels.
“We kicked off the campaign at a beach we consider emblematic, as there is no question of legal leasing here. The Paros Municipal Council decided earlier this year not to auction any part of the beach, as it is a Natura site. Yet 80-85% of tiny Santa Maria is covered in loungers,” Damianos Gavalas, one of the protesters, told Kathimerini.
The campaign was the first of its kind on the island – and it is only the start, according to the Paros Citizens’ Movement for Free Beaches.
The beaches of Kolymbithres and Paros Park are the next stop in the campaign, which was spearheaded by 78-year-old Christos Gerogousis, a former school principal.
