Athens - As dusk settled upon the Greek capital, downtown Athens, the commercial hub normally bustling two weeks before Christmas, was eerily empty of customers.

Instead, amid a sea of broken glass and charred debris, many shops stayed shut, with boarded windows to prevent further damage after days and nights of violence triggered by the shooting death by police of a 15-year-old youth Saturday in the bohemian Athens district of Exarchia.

Workers and shopkeepers wearily attempted to take inventory of their remaining stock, the majority refusing to abandon their businesses fearing they could be be burned or looted in another spree of violence.

Police once again clashed with projectile-throwing demonstrators on Wednesday during a nationwide strike that paralysed Greece, and more demonstrations are planned over the weekend.

The nationwide strike, called by unions to protest the conservative government's economic reforms, affected all transport and state services and was held amid increasing tensions in the country, which suffers from growing poverty and high unemployment.

Rioting over the boy's death began last weekend and quickly spread across the country to at least eight cities. Protests were also held in Paris, Berlin, Frankfurt, New York, Rome, London, Moscow, The Hague and in Cyprus.

The unrest is the worst in Greece since the aftermath of military rule in 1974.

With orders for new storefront windows and doors in high demand and delivery not expected for days, many business owners opted to sleep inside their shops, fearing further damage, while others attempted to salvage what was left of their businesses by temporarily erecting aluminum sheets.

"My shop is completely exposed so I am forced to protect whatever has been left," said Giannis, whose optical shop was among the hundreds destroyed during the five-day spree of riots. It is located around the corner from Athens Polytechnic University, the site of nightly clashes between youths and police.

"Despite the fact that I pay taxes I feel that there is no government present to protect my business from looters, so I have to do it myself. We are living in a state of anarchy at the moment."

Youths have marauded through the country over the past five nights, torching and gutting businesses, looting shops and setting up burning barricades across streets.

Store owners have accused authorities of leaving their businesses unprotected as rioters smashed and burned their way through popular shopping districts. Although police have responded when attacked by firebombs, they held back when youths turned their rage against buildings and cars.

"This country is not being governed. The government can no longer convince anyone," said Evangelos Venizelos, a senior member of the main opposition Socialist party, in parliament.

Riots destroyed more than 550 shops in Athens and another 100 in the northern port city of Thessaloniki and owners of surviving businesses say a festive season already hard-hit by global economic crisis may be lost to them altogether. Damage is estimated to exceed 50 million euros (65.6 millon dollars).

Some who only suffered minor damage to their storefront windows attempted to resume business, but no customers could be seen shopping inside, while in the popular areas of Plaka and Monastiraki the shops were devoid of tourists.

"This does not look like Christmas," said one angry shopkeeper who refused to give his name. "With all this destruction around us, who is going to be in the mood to shop? People are too scared to come down to the centre," he said, pointing to his appliance shop.

The government, which has seen its popularity ratings fall sharply behind the opposition Socialists in recent months due to unpopular economic and labor reforms, promised once again Wednesday to compensate businesses for the damage suffered, announcing loans, emergency subsidies and tax relief measures.

"The government is determined to safeguard citizens and to support all the businesses which have suffered damage," Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis said in a televised speech.

Dimitris Katsaridis, president of the Federation of Business in the northern port city of Thessaloniki, told Greek radio that the measures were not enough.

"We are doubtful about how quickly these measures will be implemented - we need them immediately and do not have the luxury to wait."

One shopkeeper laughed as he heard the televised address.

"The prime minister had made similar promises when large parts of mainland Peloponnese suffered devastating forest fires more than a year ago. Residents in those areas hit by the devastating fires claim the government's promises were never met," said grocery store owner Giorgos Pitrakis.

Many shopkeepers attempted humor to deal with the turn of events, posting banners across exposed fronts saying "We are permanently open" or "Feel free to take whatever you want, we live in a democratic country." (dpa)