ATHENS - Thousands of police were deployed in Athens on Thursday ahead of the annual demonstration to mark the anniversary of a 1973 student revolt against a United States-backed junta, protests that often spark violence.

Some 5,700 police will be posted in the capital, backed by drones, a helicopter and water cannon.

Much of the city centre will be closed off to traffic, and central Athens subway stations will be closed early.

The annual protests mark the day in 1973 when at least 24 people were killed at the Athens Polytechnic, when the junta sent troops and police against a pro-democracy student uprising.

Most of the unrest occurs in the bohemian Athens district of Exarcheia that is a popular anarchist hideout.

In 2022, scores of police had already been deployed in Exarcheia from August to guard regeneration projects, including a controversial new metro station.

Some 20,000 people took part in 2021’s demonstration in Athens, with a further 14,000 in the second-largest city, Thessaloniki.

The brutal crackdown in 1973 shocked Europe, and is generally considered to have broken the dictatorship’s grip on power, leading to the restoration of democracy months later.

The bloodstained Greek flag that flew that night over the Polytechnic’s iron gate, which was crushed by a tank, is carried at the head of the demonstration each year.

The demonstrations normally culminate at the US embassy to protest against Washington’s support for the Greek military dictatorship during the Cold War. AFP