Athens - Amid a sea of broken glass and charred debris in Athens' high-end shopping district of Kolonaki, dozens of people are gathered outside a jewellery shop whose entrance is filled with flowers and mourning notices.

Unlike many of the neighbouring shops lining this popular pedestrian lane, such as luxury clothing store Raulph Lauren and Parisian leather goods retailer Lancel, rioters left the tiny jewellery shop untouched in their spree of destruction.

Many shocked onlookers, however, did not realize that the shop belonged to the family of the teenager who was gunned down days earlier by police, spurring a wave of the worst riots the country has seen in more than a decade.

The riots first erupted late Saturday shortly after the shooting of the teenage boy by a police officer in the bohemian Athens district of Exarchia.

Greece braced for more widespread protests and possible violence Tuesday with the funeral of the teenager.

The Greek capital Athens, the northern port city of Thessaloniki and dozens of other cities were left crippled and littered with charred debris Tuesday after several days of arson and looting.

"What has been happening was to be expected," said 35-year-old onlooker Nikos Katsiyiannis.

"The new generation across Greece are protesting the economic woes of the entire nation. The killing of this boy was simply the last straw by a government who in my opinion are worse than any military junta this country has ever seen.

"People are surviving with just 600 euros a month and they keep on taxing us to the bones," Katsiyiannis added.

At approximately this time every year, Greeks young and old would normally be seen gathered around a brightly-lit Christmas tree in central Syntagma Square and eagerly shopping for gifts in the city center.

But as clashes between students and police continue to escalate with thousands attacking police stations, government buildings, banks and businesses, no one in central Athens appeared to be in the Christmas spirit.

Instead, shopkeepers could be seen on Tuesday wearily picking up the pieces of their businesses and blaming the government for their unfortunate fate ahead of Christmas.

Public unrest has grown with the conservative government's austerity measures, with unions regularly demonstrating against privatizations, pension reforms and the cost of living, and this latest incident could topple the unpopular conservative government. Twenty per cent of Greeks live below the poverty line.

Many shopkeepers said new taxes announced in September added to the anger against the conservative government tough economic policies as the financial crisis reaches Greece.

Days of riots destroyed hundreds of shops in Athens' commercial center and owners of surviving businesses say a festive season already hard-hit by global economic crisis may be lost to them altogether.

"I am ruined. Nothing is left of my shop," said shoe shopowner Panagiotis Argiris. "The government and the police did nothing to ensure that we are protected, to stop this violence."

Ermou Street, normally a shoppers' paradise which is filled with name brand stores, was still clouded with smoke on Tuesday after riots burned several buildings.

Nearby in Syntagma Square, the city's massive Christmas tree and village, lay in ruins after being torched by angry youths the night before.

Shop windows across Athens have been decorated with lights and the city's mayor was prepared to launch the start of the festive season with music and food when the violence exploded.

Throughout the city center, employees could be seen clearing away glass and debris from cafes, restaurants, boutiques, shops, kiosks music stores and a department store.

Some who only suffered minor damage to their front-store windows resumed business but no customers could be seen shopping inside.

"December is already a lost month. We do not know if we will be able to recover ahead of Christmas. It may be too late," said Greek clothing retailer Tsaliklis.

The Athens Shopkeepers Association told a new conference earlier that its members needed immediate financial resources to survive the crisis, asking for loans and tax payments to be suspended.

"I have asked the Economy Minister to explore all possibilities so that we can compensate citizens for damages suffered," Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis said in a televised address.

There was no official estimate of the damages, but analysts expect it will reach the hundreds of millions of euros.

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis once again appealed for calm after an emergency meeting Monday with his ministers and top security officials, trying to find a way to break the chain of violent events.

Within hours of the shooting, riots erupted throughout Greece, starting from the capital Athens and quickly spreading to the Thessaloniki, Volos, Thessalia and to the holiday islands of Corfu and Crete.

Abroad, demonstrators attempted to take over the Greek embassies in London, Berlin and Cyprus. (dpa)