The French Institute of Athens, one of the city’s oldest and most iconic cultural organisations, was the victim of vandalism on Monday, when arsonists torched a car parked outside the premises.
The unidentified vandals subsequently entered the institute through the courtyard, broke windows and tried to set it on fire.
Although police arrived almost immediately after the combustion, the arsonists had already managed to leave the building, having caused minor damage.
Founded in 1907, the French Institute has been a symbol of the strong Greek-French relationship (largely due to the work of Octave Merlier, its director from 1938 until 1961, who, among others, was responsible for sending the cream of Greek intellectuals to France during the Civil War).
There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack, nor any kind of justification or reasoning for this “mindless and criminal act against an institution that is a symbol of Greek-French friendship”, as mentioned in the statement issued by the Foreign Ministry of Greece.