A group of street traders yesterday blocked off the town hall in Nea Philadelphia, northwestern Athens, accusing local authorities of jeopardizing their livelihoods by refusing to give them licenses.

The traders, who converge outside the town hall on May Day every year, along with dozens of their counterparts from across the country, took action after local authority officials refused to meet with them.

“There are too many traders – things have got out of control,” Mayor Stavros Kontos told Kathimerini, noting that the traders generate garbage and block local roads.

The traders say they rely on their street sales. “This is our main livelihood,” said Dimitris Psikos, a spokesman for a local traders’ union. Psikos said his, and other, unions have submitted a series of petitions but only received a response after asking a prosecutor to intervene.