Greek labor unions — the private sector General Confederation of Greek Workers and public sector Civil Servants Supreme Administrative Council — staged a one-day general strike May 11 as eurozone officials continued to discuss extending another bailout to the country. Police fired tear gas on the protesters in the center of Athens, and some anarchists assaulted three police officers as they stormed an Athens hospital where a protester injured in the street violence was recuperating. The protester was beaten by the police during a march connected to the general strike — something STRATFOR contacts in Athens have indicated is unusual in Greece; the police have thus far taken care not to respond violently to the protests, in fear of inciting the kind of protests seen at the end of 2008. Violence on May 11 associated with the strike was preceded by the deadly stabbing of an immigrant from Bangladesh in what is thought to have been retaliation for an incident in which three foreigners armed with knives supposedly assaulted a man trying to get his pregnant wife to a hospital in central Athens. The violence on the streets and extension of the bailout are closely intertwined. The original 110 billion-euro ($157 billion) Greek bailout will only assist Athens through mid-2012, when the country is supposed to re-enter international debt markets on its own. However, the costs of financing continue to be prohibitive, and it is now likely that Greece will either have to default on a large part of its debt or receive another, albeit much smaller, bailout. Eurozone officials have in the past couple of days hinted at the possibility of another Greek bailout — 30 billion euros if it only covers 2012 debts, and approximately 60 billion euros if it also covers Athens' 2013 liabilities. However, if Greece were to get another loan, it would be expected to undertake further austerity measures, including considerable privatization efforts. French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, who is a strong supporter of extending another loan, was adamant in an interview published May 11 that further privatizations would be expected. Privatizations, however, mean that even more public sector employees would lose their jobs. Greece's unemployment rate has already increased from 9.3 percent in the third quarter of 2009 to 15.9 percent in February, according to latest figures released by the Greek government. It is therefore unsurprising that the news of further bailouts is being greeted with rancor and disorder in Greece. The Greek public has come to fear the bailouts, especially when preceded by International Monetary Fund/European Commission fact-finding missions, such as the one that arrived in Athens on May 10. (click here to enlarge image) Despite further expected unemployment, the Greek household sector remains considerably indebted, with only marginal deleveraging occurring. This is a worrying sign because it shows that Greek consumers have not been able to cut down their debts and have not reduced their standards of living in light of severe economic crisis. They may be unable to reduce their debts precisely because many have lost jobs or had their public sector salaries significantly reduced and are therefore depending on consumer credit to maintain their levels of expenditure and to service their debts (paying credit card bills with more credit card debt, as an example). Meanwhile, the overall banking sector has actually increased the amount of credit it has extended to consumers, corporations and the government. The total amount of credit outstanding was more than 333 billion euros in February — more than the 325 billion euros-worth of credit outstanding in May 2010, with the most significant increase in lending from banks going to the government itself. The problem, however, is that the government cannot decrease lending to consumers or force its banks to do so. That would not only throw Greece into an even deeper recession, it would also cause considerable pain to Greek citizens already frustrated to the point of protest.