Protests turn violent as Greece's government battles censure motion over deadly train crash

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ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Protesters launched gasoline bombs and fireworks in clashes with police outside Greece's parliament late Wednesday, in renewed nationwide protests calling for politicians to be held accountable for a 2023 rail disaster that claimed 57 lives.

Scores of youths set fire to trash bins in Syntagma Square in central Athens, and police in riot gear responded with tear gas and baton charges. There were no immediate reports of injuries or arrests.

The fierce clashes erupted hours after opposition parties challenged Greece's center-right government with a no-confidence motion in parliament. Days earlier, a general strike and much larger protests, some violent, marked the second anniversary of the Feb. 28, 2023, tragedy.

Many of the victims of the head-on collision between a passenger train and a freight train at Tempe in northern Greece were university students returning from a long weekend holiday. Dozens of people were injured in the crash.

Victims' relatives called for the mass mobilization in recent weeks, saying politicians should be held accountable for failures that led to the collision. So far, only rail officials have been charged.

The censure motion — led by the main opposition Socialist party and backed by three smaller left-wing parties — is unlikely to threaten the government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, which holds 156 seats in the 300-member parliament. A vote is expected late Friday.

Presenting the motion on Wednesday, Socialist party leader Nikos Androulakis accused the government of shielding officials from accountability for the tragedy.

“Why do you remain so unrepentant, continuing down this road of insults and arrogance?” Androulakis asked lawmakers. “That’s why we are submitting a motion of no confidence today.” Mitsotakis described the censure motion as a political stunt and insisted it poses no threat to his second term, which is due to end in 2027. “Parties from different vantage points have come together in a common anti-government front,” Mitsotakis told lawmakers. “It's not the truth that you are interested in. But you have collapsed in opinion polls and are looking for a reason to exist.”

___ Petros Giannakouris and Lefteris Pitarakis contributed