Greeks famously resisted the Ottoman Occupation for 368 years before gaining their independence – with the invaluable aid of Great Britain, France and Russia – and kept their language and culture.
The rebellion against the takeover of public beaches and government granting licenses for private businesses to occupy them – in violation of the Constitution – lasted less than a summer.
Citizen activists, led by those on the island of Paros, in 2023 protested the unconstitutional takeover of the beaches – by the government and businesses – with the so-called Beach Towel Revolt.
They paraded in the summer across what little strips of sand were not being occupied by expensive beach bars and luxury sun loungers and got rapt attention from the international media, but a collective yawn otherwise.
The government responded with a charade of alleged reforms, including the #MyCoast app in which people could report if private businesses were taking over more than 50 percent of a beach, the limit allowed by state leasing.
It was noted only in passing that no government has the authority to let private businesses use public beaches, even for a fee, because the Greek constitution forbids it. Here’s where the yawning comes in.
Every government ignores the constitution because the country’s alleged public beaches are fountains of money for state coffers, especially for private resorts like the One&Only Aesthesis in Glyfada on the so-called Athens Riviera.
Activists threw in the towel on trying to stop the beach takeovers despite a brief crackdown of fines and closures of some businesses that took over more than 50 percent of beach space – again, which the government allows, but the constitution doesn’t.
The One&Only Aesthesis is owned by the Greek firm Grivalia Hospitality – which had been headquartered in Luxembourg until moving to Athens – and the resort is operated by Kerzner International, based in the United Arab Emirates.
The 300-million euro ($346.25 million) development in Glyfada operates under a complex contract with the state that will last through 2081, so you can forget using that public beach until at least then.
A loophole allows the resort to have private security block any member of the public from entering the grounds to access the beach despite the constitution stipulating that there must be access.
How can you get there? You have to go to the adjoining public beach and walk through the water to swim in the sea in front of the resort – or stay on the wet sand – because the moment you step on dry sand security will be all over you like a beach fly.
The resort does not want any riff-raff too close to customers paying the standard welfare rich rate of $1,794 a night and certainly not the rich in villas paying $7,337 and certainly not the uber rich paying $35,000 for a beachfront compound.
That’s a PUBLIC beachfront that’s been taken over, but good luck trying to walk through the water – legally – there because you are at risk of security with snorkels popping up like a James Bond movie. For legal reasons, that’s a joke.
But there are legal – make that constitutional reasons – why this should not be allowed to go on but always will because the rich have power and influence and access to those who make decisions favoring them.
A Supreme Court ruling that blocking the shoreline to non-paying customers was unlawful and ‘immoral’ and instructing local prosecutors to order demolition orders and arrests – even for luxury resorts and developers – is about as valuable as the constitution in this case.
The state’s unconstitutional and unlawful argument that luxury resorts can use special contract agreements supersedes the law and the constitution, because there’s just too much money involved here and you don’t have any.
The state says it will recoup its investment through a 22 percent corporate tax rate half that for people making $46,166 a year, not multi-billion euro businesses – and that the resorts generate tourist taxes and jobs – like security guards keeping the public off public beaches.
With the high tourism season in Greece now in gear, most people will have to settle for overcrowded beaches or pay to rent umbrellas and loungers on formerly public beaches unlawfully taken over by private businesses.
Canadian entrepreneur George Stroumboulis, who created the TV show Hellenic Home Hunting extraordinaire, noted in a posting that Resort Life is not Greece – and is reserved for rich, who are being given private beaches.
He said there are some 150 5-Star luxury resorts (and more coming) and of them, “just stay at resorts and go to another expensive resort and you’re paying a thousand euros a night, but the person working there is making 700 euros a month.” At least the help can watch the rich using Greece’s public – uh, now private – beaches.
The only chance – it will fail but at least it’s worth trying to stop the bounding seizure of public beaches – is for thousands (not scores or hundreds) of people to show up outside the gates of the One&Only Aesthesis and other resorts across the country and push their way through.
Or use adjoining public beaches to take back the beaches essentially but unlawfully given to corporations and the uber-rich. There’s a risk, of course, of security burying your head in the sand but at least it will be wet, not dry land. That doesn’t belong to you anymore. Not only illegal but immoral.
