Rising food and fuel prices, a lack of funding for education, the state of public services, and access to housing have created the perfect breeding ground for a fall of protests across Europe MADRID -- Rising fuel costs, discontent with the state of schools, declining public services and a housing crisis have created perfectly stormy weather for an autumn of protests in Europe. Crowds have taken to the streets for weeks in major cities, resulting in arrests, looting, injuries, and violence across France, Italy and Albania. In Spain and Portugal, tent camps have sprung up in protests against unattainable rents and housing costs.
Young people “feel disappointed with the (social) model and experience a strong sense of uncertainty and a lack of control,” said María Silvestre, professor of sociology at the University of Deusto in Spain. It also comes as Europe faces a critical moment in its support for Ukraine, with President Donald Trump making overtures to President Vladimir Putin even as Russia is blamed for increasingly frequent hybrid attacks in NATO countries. Right-wing politicians have seized on the chaos.
While protests in France have appeared broad-based, Trump portrayed immigrants as responsible for the destruction, writing on his Truth Social platform: “The migrants have taken over France. They must CLOSE THE BORDERS, FAST!” on Monday. Many of the protests have been fueled by frustrated young people.
Other elements including black-clad, masked agitators have fomented violence, but French authorities and police have not blamed immigrants. In France, which has a long tradition of popular protest, high schoolers 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 protests then broadened as France's CGT labor union and other activists joined in while students paused for a fall break.
The movement now includes demands over rising living costs and public services. Despite hundreds of thousands of people marching peacefully, the weekend’s unrest led to 2,400 arrests and serious disturbances in parts of France, including looting in Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Bordeaux. In Limoges, flames engulfed the 19th-century City Hall and nearly destroyed the building.
Some schools were set on fire. As students and rioters threw firebombs and law enforcement responded with tear gas, hundreds have been injured. French President Emmanuel Macron condemned Saturday’s violence, accusing far-left activists of trying to foment chaos by attacking buildings and police.
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