Thousands join protest in Athens over 'Macedonia' talks

Thousands of people converged in central Athens on Sunday to protest the inclusion of the word "Macedonia" in a compromise between Athens and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia over the latter's name though turnout was far below what organizers had hoped for. 

According to police estimates, some 140,000 people joined the protest. Organizers, however, put the turnout closer to 1 million people. 

The office of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras noted that the rally drew thousands of people as anticipated but came nowhere near the "earth-shattering" millions predicted by organizers and opposition conservative officials. "Their hopes to exploit the demonstration for political gain were dashed," a statement by the premier's office said. 

In a statement on Twitter, New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that citizens had "expressed their anxiety and lack of...