Protests over costs, housing and schools have spread across Europe. Violence and arrests hit France, Italy and Albania.
Rising fuel costs, discontent with schools, declining public services and a housing crisis are driving a wave of protests across Europe, The Associated Press reported. The protests have produced arrests, looting and injuries in France, Italy and Albania, and tent camps in Spain and Portugal.
In France, high school students have staged blockades and demonstrations for more than three weeks, demanding more resources for schools they call understaffed and dilapidated, especially in lower-income neighborhoods. The movement broadened as the CGT labor union and other activists joined, and now includes demands over living costs and public services. Hundreds of thousands marched peacefully over the weekend, but the unrest led to about 2,400 arrests. There was looting in Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Bordeaux, and in Limoges flames engulfed the 19th-century city hall and nearly destroyed it. Some schools were set on fire, and hundreds of people have been injured as rioters threw firebombs and police responded with tear gas. President Emmanuel Macron said in a televised address Sunday that those who looted will have to pay for the damage and those who sought to bring down the Republic will be held accountable. He blamed far-left activists. U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday that migrants have taken over France and that the country must close its borders quickly. French authorities and police have not blamed immigrants, the AP said, and have pointed to black-clad, masked agitators.
In Spain, tarpaulin tents have covered Madrid’s Puerta del Sol for weeks to protest rising housing costs. The protests were sparked by the eviction of an 87-year-old woman, Maricarmen, who later died in hospital. Smaller camps followed in other Spanish cities, and similar housing protests have sprung up in Lisbon, Porto and Barcelona. The Socialist government approved affordable housing measures that lacked support in Parliament, and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced a snap election for November. A general strike, the first in 14 years, has also been called for November. Schoolteachers began an indefinite strike in Madrid last week over pay and working conditions. Spain’s minimum wage is 1,221 euros ($1,370) a month, while the average monthly rent for an 80-square-meter apartment is about 1,130 euros, according to an analysis by the business newspaper Expansión.
In Italy, a movement called “Italia in Piazza” has drawn thousands of demonstrators demanding better employment, health care, education, housing and higher wages. Inflation in Italy rose to 4.2% in September, above the eurozone’s 3.8%, according to government data. Peaceful marches were followed by riots in Turin, Bologna and Milan, where masked rioters clashed with police, looted stores and set property on fire. Milan police said 271 people were arrested, most of them minors, and 14 security officers were injured over two days. A new group calling itself the “Oct. 17 Movement” has announced a “permanent mobilization” with demonstrations every Saturday at 3 p.m. in cities across Italy.
In Albania, anti-government protests have run for more than a week in Tirana. Clashes escalated after high school and university students joined the “Flamingo” movement, which wants Prime Minister Edi Rama to resign. Rama has called the protesters ideologized and radicalized by antifa. The movement is named for the habitat of flamingos in an area where the government agreed to allow a luxury tourism development linked to Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law. Ending corruption is a major demand. In Serbia, student-led anti-corruption protests are challenging former President Aleksandar Vucic’s attempt to return as prime minister in parliamentary elections on Oct. 25.
María Silvestre, a sociology professor at the University of Deusto in Spain, said young Europeans feel a strong sense of uncertainty and lack of control. She said that when specific situations come together, a spark can ignite and drive people into the streets. The unrest comes as France, Italy and Spain approach pivotal elections and as far-right parties have made gains in Germany. It also comes at a critical moment for Europe’s support for Ukraine, with Trump making overtures to Russian President Vladimir Putin as Russia is blamed for more frequent hybrid attacks in NATO countries.
Information for this report was provided by The Associated Press via PBS News.