It is peak tourist season in Greece, and on the pristine Monastiri beach on the northern tip of Paros island, a phalanx of lounge chairs with red umbrellas covers the sand. “In some cases they covered 100 percent of the beach,” said Nicolas Stephanou, 70, a local resident. “We feel we’re being pushed off the island,” he added, explaining that people are made to feel unwelcome unless they use the services of the beach bars that own the chairs. Many local people like Mr. Stephanou have had enough, saying seaside businesses have left them hardly a scrap of sand on which to lay their towels. Since starting in July, the protests have caught on nationwide, inspiring a “beach towel movement” organized over social media from Corfu in the north to Crete in the south.

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Persons: ”, Nicolas Stephanou, Stephanou Locations: Greece, ”, Corfu, Crete