Athens (AFP)

Wood or metal, traditional or modern, the kiosk, known in Greece as the "periptero", has been part of the urban landscape since 1911, but the crisis linked to the coronavirus pandemic constitutes a new test for this Athenian symbol.

The economic crisis (2010-2018) wiped out nearly half of these stalls which, on the corner of a sidewalk or in a square, sell cigarettes, newspapers, magazines, sweets, drinks, trinkets, and now masks and hydro-alcoholic gels.

The coronavirus epidemic risks further weakening this Athenian institution, a full-fledged character in old Greek films and popular songs.

"During the economic crisis, we went from 11,000 kiosks to 5,500 across the country, including 500 in Athens. And in recent months, I have observed that they continue to close. Containment and then the restrictive measures taken by the government risk to be very difficult for our profession to overcome, ”said Theodoros Mallios, president of the Union of Kioskiers in Athens.

- Closed at midnight -

At the end of September, due to an increase in the number of cases in major cities, the government announced the closure of kiosks from midnight to 5 a.m.

Near Athens' central square, Syntagma, the Panagiotis Karatsas periptero operates normally 24 hours a day. "I lost about 20% of my turnover with this obligation to close at midnight" after having " had to face with difficulty two months of closure with confinement, "he said.

Faced with heavy taxation, and the decline in the purchasing power of the Greeks, the forty-something has more than once thought of going out of business: "Many of my colleagues have closed down in the center of Athens ... Me j have resisted, but for how long? The coronavirus is one more test for all of us.

A few meters away, the same confusion for Spiros Karagiorgis "worried about the future": "In the center of Athens, the situation is even worse (...) because we normally sell to office workers, who are now numerous in teleworking, and to tourists, who this year have deserted the capital ".

In six months, the number of visitors arriving in Greece fell by 76.9%, according to the Bank of Greece.

Spiros does not know how he will pay his license of 1,500 euros to the city hall of Athens, which has been managing the peripteros since 2012.

When they were created at the beginning of the 20th century, the kiosks were allocated to veterans for their livelihood and were dependent on the Ministry of Defense.

Now, municipalities have difficulty renewing licenses because they "want to free up spaces for pedestrians and are hampered by kiosks which often encroach on sidewalks or squares," said Theodoros Mallios.

- The soul of the neighborhood -

In the district of Petralona, ​​below the Acropolis, Merkouri Square is bordered by terraces full of regulars.

Giorgos Siaplaouras, the newsstand, is not angry with the government.

"The measures taken are ridiculous and only favor supermarkets! The other evening again, I closed at midnight but the place was full (...) of coolers full of beers and alcoholic drinks" bought at the supermarket , he says.

"It is not by closing the kiosks earlier that young people will stop partying," sighs this emblematic figure of the square.

Dimitris Katsigiannis, a retiree, comes every morning to buy his newspaper or just to chat with the owner: "It's a meeting point just like the café", says the septuagenarian for whom "to take a walk to the periptero constitutes a way to break loneliness ".

Already "in the 60s, when we did not yet have a telephone, we would come and make phone calls. Then we would come every Sunday to get the newspaper and treats for the children," he recalls.

For him, the disappearance of the periptero "would be dramatic, the entire neighborhood would lose its soul".

© 2020 AFP