Police have fired tear gas in running battles with stone-throwing youths in Athens, where a 48-hour general strike is being held against a parliamentary vote on tough austerity measures.
Thousands of protesters gathered outside parliament in the capital where public transport ground to a halt.
PM George Papandreou has said that only his 28bn-euro (£25bn) austerity plan would get Greece back on its feet.
If the package is not approved, Greece could run out of money within weeks.
Without a new plan in place, the EU and International Monetary Fund say they will withhold 12bn euros of loans which Greece needs to repay debts due in mid-July.
The newly named IMF chief, Christine Lagarde, has urged Greek politicians to unite to avoid a debt default.
"If I have a message this evening about Greece, it is a call to the Greek opposition... to join in national unity with the party which is currently in power," she told France's TF1 television station. "The country's destiny is at stake."-bbc
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