Europe Protests Spread From France to Five Other Countries This Week
Protests over living costs, education, housing and workplace safety have spread across France, Albania, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Greece, Newsweek reported…
Newsweek reports protests over local grievances in six European countries this week, as demonstrations about household costs, education, housing and workplace safety have taken different forms. The Europe map shows countries including France, Albania, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Greece, with unrest in France drawing a sharp response from U.S. political figures.
The protests have had concrete consequences. French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said at least 550,000 people took to the streets on Saturday, 1,800 people were arrested and more than 500 police officers and firefighters were injured.
Europe map shows countries with different grievances
In France, demonstrations against living costs and school conditions have continued since late September, with many turning violent. The unrest began after teachers at Saint-Exupéry High School in Créteil went on strike over staff shortages in mid-September. Students then blockaded the school in solidarity, protesting education conditions.
The movement grew in Paris before spreading elsewhere in the country. It expanded to include broader economic dissatisfaction, as energy and food prices squeezed household budgets. According to France’s national statistics agency INSEE, energy prices were 21.3 percent higher in September than a year earlier, while petrol prices rose 25.7 percent. Unemployment reached 8.3 percent in the second quarter, up from 7.6 percent from last year.
The scale was large. Nuñez said the Saturday demonstrations took place across France. Shops were looted, while cars and trash cans were set alight in multiple cities. In Limoges, a city hall built in 1883 was largely destroyed after flames engulfed it.
Many demonstrators responded to social media calls to revive the “yellow vest” movement, which emerged in 2018 against social injustice. Protesters wearing fluorescent tops appeared among the crowds. Nuñez has blamed “extremely violent, radical far-left groups” for fueling violence at demonstrations, many of which began peacefully.
Albania, Spain and Greece
Albania has entered its fifth day of anti-government riots, Newsweek reported. High school and university students joined a broader movement demanding the resignation of Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama. The protests followed months of rallies in Tirana organized by the “Flamingo” movement, which opposes a major luxury tourism development in southern Albania.
In Italy, protests over general economic conditions took place in Milan. Demonstrations in several Portuguese cities also focused on economic concerns. In Spain, protesters called for housing affordability and the right to housing, while refinery workers in Greece gathered to demand better workplace safety.
The concerns vary, but the immediate effect is visible in streets, schools and workplaces. In France, the reported injuries and arrests show the public safety costs of the unrest; in Spain, housing affordability has become a direct focus of demonstrations. Newsweek also reported that U.S. embassies issued warnings about protests to Americans in France, Albania and Belgium at different points this month.
U.S. President Donald Trump blamed the disorder in France on immigration in a Truth Social post on Sunday and urged the country to close its borders. Vice President JD Vance shared footage of the burning city hall and criticized “western liberals” in a post on X. Newsweek said neither Trump nor Vance offered evidence linking the protests to immigration.
Nuñez’s figures put the French toll at 1,800 arrests and more than 500 injured police officers and firefighters.
Source: newsweek.com
