The conditions were undoubtedly unprecedented. The pandemic has brought many professions to their knees, some more than others, especially when the decision was made to lock themselves in their homes. The hearth and its staff, mostly young people, found themselves in a very difficult situation.

We were sympathetic to the fact that they face a serious problem of survival, in some cases we turned a blind eye. In what; In the extravagance of some restaurant entrepreneurs, who were given more public space by the government and municipal authorities, and they thought they could occupy them. And in some cases it was. There are examples in Athens – Pagrati, Kolonaki, Agia Irini, Koukaki, etc. – in Thessaloniki and, of course, in the most touristic areas of the country.

“Disappeared” squares, sidewalks that could not be walked on, sidewalks suffocatingly packed with tables, umbrellas and makeshift structures with awnings, a state of absolutely unbearable anarchy and obscenity have become everyday life for a resident of large urban centers, where there is not much public space left anyway, on the contrary, it is a luxury. This limited common space was thus in some cases violated with incredible audacity, “according to circumstances” no boundary was observed at all.

The extension option ended at the end of September. In the spotlight, people waited until the last minute and pushed in all directions to keep the regulation, this time as an “antidote” to the effects of the energy crisis, which we agree is not insignificant, many businesses will be inspected. The government decided to do a favor to the owners of restaurants, bars and cafes by starting a new prolongation of the possibility of incomplete renting out common areas for arranging additional seats at the tables.

Lockdown tables will remain… laid out until January 15th. Now the “hot potato” goes to the competent public utilities. They are responsible for which and how many renewal requests they approve, they are responsible for complying with the law and restrictions. They have to “move” them at the remote control.

Public space belongs to everyone. This does not mean that where there are even, large areas or very wide sidewalks, an extension cannot be made. But in cases with narrow sidewalks, in small parks and squares, no extraordinary circumstances should become an excuse for excess and obscenity. The center of Athens was particularly hard hit. And the suffering cannot last.