Trade unions in Greece have begun a 48-hour general strike, hours after PM George Papandreou urged parliament to back an austerity package.

希腊总理乔治·帕潘德里欧敦促议会支持其紧缩政策，数小时之后，工会即举行为期48小时的大罢工。

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Defeat for the government this week would send ripples of anxiety right across the eurozone
Huge crowds of protesters are expected on the streets of Athens, while public transport is set to grind to a halt（慢慢停止） .

On Monday, Mr Papandreou said only his 28bn-euro (£25bn) austerity programme would get Greece back on its feet.

If the government loses, the EU and IMF could withhold² 12bn euros of loans and Greece could run out of money in weeks.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said French banks are ready to offer new 30-year loans to Greece when its current debts fall due.

He said other European countries whose banks had lent money to Greece were considering the same model to help prevent a default. But the UK denied it was pressing banks to "take a haircut".

'Massacre³'

More than 5,000 police officers are due to be deployed⁴ in the centre of Athens on Tuesday morning, when tens of thousands of striking workers are expected to march towards parliament at 1000 (0700 GMT).

The general strike will disrupt or halt most public services, with doctors, ambulance drivers, journalists and even state-funded actors taking part.

Airports will be shut for hours at a time, with air traffic controllers walking out between 0800 and 1200 (0500-0900 GMT) and 1800 and 2200 (1500-1900 GMT). Ferries, buses and trains will also stop running.

The unions are angry that the government's austerity（紧缩，朴素） programme will impose taxes on those earning the minimum wage, following months of other cuts which have seen unemployment rise to more than 16%.

"These measures are a massacre（屠杀，惨败） for workers' rights. It will truly be hell for the working man. The strike must bring everything to a standstill," Thanassis Pafilis, a Greek Communist Party MP, told the Associated Press.

Some protesters have said they will encircle the parliament building to prevent MPs from entering. The austerity package and implementation⁵（实现，履行） law must be passed in separate votes on Wednesday and Thursday.

If the measures are passed, the next instalment of Greece's 110bn-euro bailout will be released by the European Union and International Monetary⁶ Fund.

European officials will also start to finalise the details of a second bailout - worth an estimated 120bn euros - designed to help Greece pay its debts until the end of 2014.

The BBC's Chris Morris in Athens says defeat for the government this week would sends ripples（涟漪，波纹） of anxiety right across the eurozone, with Greece facing the prospect⁷ next month of becoming the first member state to default on its debts.