Cybersecurity

The Weight of Capital Controls Is Fierce and Quick in Athens

And a plea for help from Europe

Fear and Frustration: Life Under Capital Controls

Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Hacking through hunks of lamb and stringing up thick pork sausages, the butchers at Athens's Central Market were some of the first to feel the force of capital controls. With fewer euros in their pockets, shoppers cut back on meat. Stallholders said their sales were half of normal levels. And they foresaw worse times ahead if Greece exits the euro.

Because most of their produce comes from France, the cost of buying euro-priced beef in drachma would be crippling.