In pictures: Athens' empty shops testament to austerity
A padlock secures the entrance of a closed shop in central Athens. Greece’s deep recession has forced almost a third of businesses in the capital’s commercial district to close.JOHN KOLESIDIS/Reuters
A man walks through an arcade with closed shops and “for rent” signs in central Athens.JOHN KOLESIDIS/Reuters
A pawn shop in central Athens is one of the businesses that can still flourish in a struggling economy. Tens of thousands of other small businesses have shut since 2010.JOHN KOLESIDIS/Reuters
A row of closed shops in central Athens is typical of the decline of commerce in the city.JOHN KOLESIDIS/Reuters
Graffiti outside the Athens’ Academy in central Athens Sept. 24, shows the effect of violent street protests against tax rises and salary cuts. As many as 68,000 businesses in Greece have closed since the beginning of 2011, and many more are expected to close.JOHN KOLESIDIS/Reuters
Commuters walk through an empty shopping area during a 24-hour strike by metro, city train and train way employees protesting a new wave of austerity measures by the coalition government, in central Athens Sept. 20, 2012.YANNIS BEHRAKIS/Reuters
Municipal workers sit in front of a shop window during an anti-austerity rally in Athens. The number of shuttered shops on the capital’s busiest commercial streets hit a record high in August of up to 42 per cent.JOHN KOLESIDIS/Reuters