Greek journalists walk out against punishing austerity

The workers' 24-hour walkout was staged to protest against austerity measures and pay cuts.

News broadcasts didn't air, websites were not updated and newspapers will not publish editions tomorrow.

The government accused the opposition Syriza party of deliberately instigating the strike to "cause a news blackout of the visit of French President Francois Hollande."

Journalists' unions have been protesting at sackings and pension and benefit cuts among other issues.

Hundreds of journalists in the private sector frequently go unpaid for months at a time.

The strike precedes a 24-hour general strike tomorrow that will disrupt all services across the country.

Government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou said: "The journalists' union leadership succumbed to the usual party aims and Syriza's plan to cause a media blackout during the visit of President Hollande."

He claimed that Syriza "does not hesitate to damage the country's international image."

During his visit, Mr Hollande is to hold talks with prime minister Antonis Samaras and meet Greek and French businessmen.

Greece has been gripped by a severe financial crisis since early 2010 that has left it dependent on multibillion-euro bailout loans from the International Monetary Fund and other eurozone countries.

In return, it has slashed public spending and increased taxes in an bid to lower the country's debt, but these have just made the crisis worse.

After nearly three years of austerity, Greece is stuck in a deep recession, with thousands of businesses shutting down and unemployment spiraling to 27 per cent.

More then three in five young people are out of work.

France has been generally far more relaxed in its attitude towards Greece and its financial crisis than Germany, the other major eurozone power, which has insisted on draconian austerity measures.