Protesters are dwarfed behind two huge banners draped over the walls of the Acropolis on Tuesday. The initiative, aimed at rallying support among Europeans who expressed sympathy with Greek protesters after the police killing of a boy, was condemned by the government, which said it ‘tarnished’ the country’s image abroad.

According to "Kathimerini", protests triggered by the police killing of a 15-year-old boy nearly two weeks ago took a less violent and more imaginative turn, as demonstrators hung two giant pink banners off the Acropolis citadel, appealing for mass demonstrations across Europe.

One banner bore the word “Resistance” written in Greek, English, Italian and German and the second called for “Demonstrations in all Europe” today. The protesters appeared to be trying to tap into the sympathy that riots in Athens last week sparked in other European cities. The protest was the second visual appeal to citizens to join demonstrations after a group of youths overran a state television studio on Tuesday.

Government spokesman Evangelos Antonaros condemned as “inexcusable”  THE protest on the Acropolis, which had only just reopened to tourists after a 10-day strike by Culture Ministry workers. “There can be no justification for this action... This hurts the image of our country abroad,” he said.