400 Face Eviction in Athens: Defend Prosfygika

Global Housing Action Days 2026: European Left stands with vulnerable residents

Between 23 and 29 March 2026, communities across Europe and beyond are mobilising for Housing Action Days 2026, a global week of action calling for the right to housing on a liveable planet.

As the “Global Housing Action Days 2026” mobilization (coordinated internationally by EAC, the International Alliance of Inhabitants (IAI), and Stay Ground) is now underway, we welcome this initiative and express our full support. The fight for decent, affordable housing, protected from capitalist speculation and exploitation, is more necessary than ever!

While people across Europe are fighting to assert their fundamental right to housing, even at risk to their health and their lives, the European Commission sees no alternative but to exacerbate the housing crisis in Europe by further opening it up to private investors and international hedge funds.

Party of the European Left

On the “Housing Action Days 2026”, the Party of the European Left (EL) strongly condemns the brutal and imminent eviction attempt of the Squatted Prosfygika Community on Alexandras Avenue, in the center of Athens. We stand in unconditional solidarity with the residents fighting for their fundamental right to housing and a dignified life.

The historic Prosfygika complex, originally built in the 1930s to house Greek refugees from Asia Minor, is today an extraordinary example of self-management and collective urban regeneration. For a full 15 years, a diverse community of over 400 highly vulnerable people—including refugees, migrants, the elderly, people with chronic illnesses, women, and more than 50 children—has breathed new life into buildings that the State had deliberately left to decay. Based on mutual aid and without any public funding, the community has built and currently maintains over 22 social structures open to all. These include kindergartens, a social pharmacy, an emergency women’s shelter, a collective bakery, and a hospitality facility for patients of the “Agios Savvas” Anti-Cancer Hospital and their companions, filling the severe gaps in the Greek state’s welfare system.

Today, this vital reality of solidarity is under attack. The Attica Region and the Greek government have planned a €15 million “regeneration” project (financed by European ESPA funds) which, in its official documents, completely ignores the existence of the 400 inhabitants, planning their forced eviction without any form of consultation. Regional authorities have also publicly confirmed that the clearing of the complex will be violently executed by police forces.

Faced with institutional stonewalling, a total lack of dialogue, and the imminent danger to their lives, one resident began a hunger strike on February 5, 2026, and other inhabitants are ready to join the protest. The Party of the European Left expresses its full support for the hunger strike and warns: we hold the Government and the Attica Region directly responsible for the safety and health of these people.

For the Party of the European Left, housing is not a privilege for the few, but a fundamental right for everyone. We fiercely oppose the commodification of spaces and real estate speculation. Our principle is clear: “Housing for People, Not for Profit.” The Prosfygika community concretely demonstrates that cooperative, public, and non-profit housing is the only way to combat the housing crisis, rather than the financialized model of the European Investment Bank.

Furthermore, the actions of the Greek government blatantly violate international human rights, as well as the European Union principle that obliges institutions to involve and consult civil society in the use of EU funds.

We strongly demand:

  • The immediate acceptance of the Zero Evictions.
  • The immediate suspension of all police operations against these vulnerable people and families.
  • The recognition of the right to stay for the 400 residents.

We will not leave the Prosfygika Community to face this alone. Their struggle is the struggle of the entire working class and of social movements across Europe to defend our neighborhoods from financial speculation!

READ RELATED NEWS FROM EUROPEAN LEFT: Europe’s Housing Crisis: The Shocking Truth

FIND OUT MORE:

Skip to content