Protesters gathered on the upscale pedestrian way on Ermou Street  from 10 a.m. on Sunday handing out leaflets to consumers in opposition to Sunday  shop opening times. They gathered outside large department stores with the slogan “Never on Sunday”.

Police stood nearby watching developments.

Dinos Palestidis, head of the Union for Books and Stationary Shops Employees, stressed that the government had committed itself to ending Sunday shopping.

Shops — outside areas deemed as tourist zones — are open on Sunday, April 5, due to the extra Easter shopping, and the government has already committed to ending the practice, although chambers of commerce and merchants associations are vocally in support of the measures as a way to booster falling sales.