VIDEO: Athens Protesters Throw Petrol Bombs

Dozens of demonstrators pelted police with eggs and rubbish outside parliament and tried to set fire to the municipal Christmas tree.

Greek demonstrators threw petrol bombs at finance ministry offices and torched two cars in central Athens on Saturday as anti-government protests entered a third week since police shot dead a teenager.

Dozens of demonstrators pelted police with eggs and rubbish outside parliament and tried to set fire to the municipal Christmas tree in the central Syntagma square. Riot police fired teargas to disperse the protest.

A small group of anarchists who broke away from the crowd threw petrol bombs at nearby finance ministry offices, causing minor damage but no injuries, police officials said.

In the upmarket Kolonaki district, youths set fire to two vehicles, causing serious damage.

The violence was on a smaller scale than the days of rioting that erupted in several cities in the wake of the Dec. 6 shooting of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos by a patrolman in Athens' volatile Exarchia neighbourhood.

Greece's worst unrest in decades fed on anger at youth unemployment, government reforms and the global economic crisis.

For most of Saturday, Athens was calm and the streets were busy with Christmas shoppers. Unions and students have announced more rallies for the new year.

The protests have caused hundreds of millions of euros in damage, rocking a conservative government that has a one-seat majority and trails the opposition in polls. Some analysts say months of street protests could force early elections.

Watch the VIDEO: Greek police clash with protesters