His gaze fixed on the ground, an Athens jeweler harks back to the good old days, when the city flourished and people always wanted his hand-beaten gold rings and ornate necklaces.

„Today, no one came,“ said Themis Lizardos, 44. „This is true every day.“ Another shop in the now partly derelict building has been boarded shut…Lizardos is worried Greece will lose a crucial part of the economy and will become a nation of big corporations.

„Slowly, we are all going to close down and we will work in factories for the big guys, for a 500 euro (monthly) salary,“ he said.