‘No Space for Us’: Greeks Fight Beach Takeover by Pricey Sun Chairs

It is peak vacationer season in Greece, and on the pristine Monastiri seashore on the northern tip of Paros island, a phalanx of lounge chairs with crimson umbrellas covers the sand. At 70 euros for a pair of front-row seats close to the crystalline waters, lower than half had been taken on a latest day, as Greeks and vacationers alike who didn’t wish to pay as a substitute sheltered from the solar beneath close by timber.

“In some cases they covered 100 percent of the beach,” mentioned Nicolas Stephanou, 70, an area resident. “We feel we’re being pushed off the island,” he added, explaining that persons are made to really feel unwelcome except they use the companies of the seashore bars that personal the chairs.

Many native individuals like Mr. Stephanou have had sufficient, saying seaside companies have left them hardly a scrap of sand on which to put their towels. In latest weeks, lots of of individuals of all ages have staged demonstrations, strolling alongside the sand on three seashores with banners saying “Reclaim our beaches,” as a part of a motion referred to as Save Paros Beaches.

Since beginning in July, the protests have caught on nationwide, inspiring a “beach towel movement” organized over social media from Corfu within the north to Crete within the south.

While seashores are public in Greece, native authorities lease sections of them to bars, eating places and resorts. Though not more than 50 p.c of a seashore is meant to be occupied, most of the companies are increasing illegally, occupying more room than they leased.

On Paros, which sees its inhabitants of 14,000 enhance by tenfold in the summertime, these companies have change into predatory, residents say, charging as much as 120 euros, or about $130, for “V.I.P.” solar loungers.

Tourists are usually not too completely satisfied concerning the proliferation of the chairs, both.

On the island’s Kolymbithres seashore, 10 rows of lounge chairs just lately occupied one sandy cove.

Vasileios Paraskevas, a 47-year-old automobile manufacturing unit employee from Germany, mentioned he and his spouse couldn’t discover room for their very own umbrella. “We couldn’t go left, we couldn’t go right,” mentioned Mr. Paraskevas, who ended up sheltering beneath a tree. “There was no space for us.”

On the identical seashore, three sisters from Australia had been sunbathing on towels in a nook. “We were going to get a lounger, as we couldn’t find a free strip of sand to sit on, but they wanted 70 euros,” mentioned Sue Slieman, a 40-year-old hospital scientist visiting together with her sisters, Hoda, 42, and Laura, 37.

“Everyone should have access to the beach; it shouldn’t depend on your income,” mentioned Hoda Slieman.

As a part of their battle in opposition to the companies’ enlargement on the sand, members of the Save Paros Beaches group downloaded the contracts of companies from a web based authorities registry and plotted the coordinates of the areas allotted to them over aerial images taken by drones.

“There were massive discrepancies,” Mr. Stephanou mentioned — the 7,186 sq. meters leased to companies final yr in the end expanded to 18,800 sq. meters. Residents collected hundreds of signatures for a petition to make companies comply with the principles.

As the motion unfold, the authorities reacted. In late July, inspectors descended on two seashores on Paros, and solar chairs had been eliminated. Then, Greece’s Supreme Court prosecutor ordered an investigation into violations on Paros and the island of Serifos.

Fearing fines, some companies eliminated chairs, no less than quickly. On Naxos, lounge chairs and four-poster beds that had been positioned on seashores had been cleared — solely to reappear as quickly as inspectors left. The authorities later arrested three businessmen.

Inspectors carried out greater than 900 checks of Greek seashores between July 21 and Aug. 8, and penalties had been imposed in a 3rd of the circumstances, mentioned Kostis Hatzidakis, the finance minister of Greece. He heralded an overhaul of the authorized framework governing the concession of seashores to companies “to make it more modern and transparent.”

The present system is something however environment friendly, Markos Kovaios, the mayor of Paros, conceded in an interview.

“We have a problem,” he mentioned, calling for the assessment of a regulation beneath which native authorities should defer to the ministry for approval of lease agreements with companies and for inspections of infractions. “We should be in charge.”

As for the residents’ motion, he mentioned it was extreme, noting that Paros has no less than 30 seashores that don’t cost to make use of chairs. He prompt the motion may be politically motivated, since native elections are set for October.

At an area council assembly final week, nonetheless, the Paros municipality accredited a set of proposals by the residents’ motion aimed toward making certain that companies now not function past the areas allotted to them.

Analysts mentioned the motion expressed pent-up frustration at exploitation by companies which can be pricing Greeks out of a elementary proper.

“In a country where unbridled profiteering is rampant, Greeks are taking action to reclaim their public space,” mentioned Seraphim Seferiades, a professor of political science and historical past at Panteion University in Athens. “The situation on the beaches may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

Eleni Andrianopoulou, a spokeswoman for the motion on Naxos, mentioned locals would protest “until justice is restored.”

“They shoo people away, they tell us you’re spoiling the view,” Ms. Andrianopoulou mentioned. “It’s hugely upsetting. You go to the beach to clear your head of troubles, not fill it with anxiety.”

Some seashore bars refused to remark.

It is obvious, although, that lax oversight and bureaucratic delays typically permit some companies to function with impunity. Even these companies that obtain approval to function often signal authorities contracts on the finish of the season, slightly than earlier than, due to understaffing, the mayor of Paros admitted.

Giorgos Arkoulis, the proprietor of the Dixty restaurant, which has operated on Mikri Santa Maria seashore on Paros for 28 years, was denied a license to place solar loungers on the seashore this yr however did so anyway. He mentioned he was anticipating the “illogical” choice to be overturned. Instead, he was pressured to clear away the lounge chairs, a transfer that prompted complaints from his prospects.

Indeed, not all guests assist the motion.

“I don’t agree with it — there’s enough space for everyone,” mentioned Theofilos Afouxenidis, a 45-year-old accountant sitting beneath a tree subsequent to the Marcello Beach Bar on the northwest coast of Paros. “I was here last year, sitting on a lounger at the front of the beach. It was great.”

Grigoris Pirpiris, a 29-year-old native of Paros who lives in Athens, mentioned he was glad officers had pressured companies to liberate house on Marcello seashore, the place he performed as a baby. But he’s involved about the kind of extreme vacationer growth, that he mentioned has overrun close by Mykonos.

“They have to put the brakes on. It’s too much,” he mentioned. “The beach is nature.”