December 6, 2008: When Greek Youth Rose Up

On December 6, 2008, the fatal shooting of a 15-year-old boy ignited a massive wave of anger across Greece, triggering one of the largest youth uprisings in the country’s modern history.

Students and young people poured into the streets of every major city, expressing deep frustration toward an aging political class marked by corruption, stagnation, and an inability to offer any hope for a better future.

Young graduates from middle-class families—facing unemployment or poverty-level salaries—joined forces with marginalized youth. Together, they turned city centers into hotbeds of protest, confronting a system they felt had failed them completely.

This unprecedented social explosion echoed the warnings of historian Emmanuel Todd in his 2008 book Après la démocratie, where he predicted the growing crisis of political legitimacy in Western societies.