Athens: Anxious pensioners swarmed closed bank branches today and long lines snaked outside ATMs as Greeks endured the first day of serious controls on their daily economic lives ahead of a July 5 referendum that could determine whether the country has to ditch the euro currency and return to the drachma.

As strict capital controls took root following Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' surprise weekend decision to call a referendum on international creditors' latest economic proposals, Greece's population tried to fathom the sheer scale of the impact on their day-to-day existence.