Greek PM appeals for calm

The Greek Prime Minister has appealed for calm as the street violence threatens to spiral out of control. Costas Karamanlis described the death of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos as a tragedy, but said the events which followed were unacceptable and would not be tolerated.

Karamanlis’ government has a wafer-thin majority in parliament, and has become increasingly unpopular following a series of scandals and protests over economic reforms. The opposition Socialists now lead the opinion polls consistently for the first time in eight years.