To avoid default, the deeply indebted country will have to pay its international creditors before paying its public-sector workers.

Both sides are struggling to find a deal to unlock €7.2 billion in loans that the highly indebted country needs to prevent bankruptcy and default over the coming weeks.

Civil society groups protested the offer of loans and not grants for such an already heavily indebted country trying to cope with such destruction.

The heavily indebted countries have given up their ability to use monetary policy to help to lift them out of crisis.

If not, it would make logical sense for the indebted countries to bail out of the euro and go back to national currencies.