The aftermath of Saturday night’s rally to commemorate the shooting of 15-year-old Alexis Grigoropoulos in 2008 has left the streets of the city center in shambles. Most of the destruction was noted in the region of Exarhia, noted for its tradition in anarchy. The Exarhia neighborhood, in the wake of the protests, looked like a bombed area on Sunday morning with the light of day revealing the extent of the destruction. Shops were destroyed, kiosks leveled, security cameras unhinged, cars burnt and the streets full of debris, glass, rocks all exuding the scent of last night’s chemicals.

Damage wasn’t restricted to Exarhia but was widespread throughout the city center with destruction at central Stadiou and Panepistimiou streets as well as Omonoia Square. It’s still too early, however, to calculate the cost and the extent of the damage to businesses already hardhit by the economic crisis.

Athens Vice Mayor George Apostolopoulos told SKAI: “The situation in the city center brought to mind the situation in 2008 at Exarhia Square, Omonoia and Panepistimiou Street. This cannot continue. Exarhia has no immunity for hoodlums to destroy the image of the city!”

Mr. Apostolopoulos also spoke of a new method of vandalism that was initiated on Saturday night in battles between the police and anarchists. He underlined that the people taking part in the destruction of the city weren’t just 15-year-olds but also more mature ages, all of them hooded, jumping from bacony to balcony and attacking police with Molotov cocktails from above, combining parkour with rocket throwing. “Dozens of people were on balconies. There were some apartment blocks whose lifts were destroyed as a result of 20 to 30 people rushing to the top!” said Mr. Apostolopoulos. “They threw everything from antennas to Molotov devices.”

The race to the top of balconies isn’t new, but it is becoming more widespread. The anarchists have a good safe haven and vantage point from which to cause damage and harm to the police in the streets below. The police, on their part, are unable to respond in an effective way in fear that someone may fall from the top of a building and leap toward death.

What happened last night –