34,000 protest in Greece on anti-junta revolt anniversary

Tens of thousands of people joined protests in Greece's two largest cities on Wednesday, marking the anniversary of a 1973 student revolt against a US-backed junta, an annual event that often sparks violence. 

Twenty thousand turned out in the capital Athens, according to police. Most of the marchers were students, unionists and members of leftist parties. A further 14,000 marched in the second city Thessaloniki.

Police were deployed in their thousands in the capital, supported by drones, a helicopter and water cannon as violence regularly breaks out during the annual protest.

However, both demonstrations remained peaceful into the evening.

In Athens, thousands marched to the US embassy to protest against Washington's support for the Greek military dictatorship during the Cold War.

"No to police violence and suppression", read one banner, "Resistance to fascism" another.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in a statement said, "Let us welcome this great anniversary... without extreme behaviour."

Social discontent has been growing in Greece against the conservative government, which has been criticised for its security crackdown, police violence and alleged control of the media.