The former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis was attacked by a group of unknown men outside a restaurant in Athens, in the anarchist neighborhood of Exarchia. After being shot in the face, Varoufakis was taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with a broken nose. This was reported by the Efimerida ton Syntakton website, according to which the group of people shouted: “Come out bastard who signed the memorandums” and then attacked the politician, who became the symbol of the clash between Greece and the Troika in the years of the crisis of debt.
Varoufakis was having dinner with supporters of his party, Mera25 (known in Europe as Diem25), before the attack, outside the restaurant. And he was shot after he approached to speak to people who had insulted him. Mera25 defined the episode, via social media, as a “brazen fascist attack by provocative bullies”, while government spokesman Yannis Economou condemned the episode: “In our democracy there is no room for bullying and there is no there is tolerance for any form of violence. The Greek police will do whatever it takes to bring those responsible to justice,” he assured.
Known for being the headquarters of anarchist movements in the capital, the Exarchia neighborhood had already been the scene of a similar attack. In 2015, Varoufakis was the victim of a similar attack outside the same restaurant where the episode took place today.