From France to Albania, Social Unrest Is Setting Europe's Streets Ablaze

A wave of protests over rising living costs, strained public services, failing schools and unaffordable housing has swept across Europe this autumn, turning violent in France and Albania and spilling into Italy, Portugal, Belgium and Spain.

In France, the unrest began in the classroom. High school students, protesting overcrowded classes, teacher shortages, deteriorating facilities and an admissions system they say fuels inequality, were joined over the fall by teachers, parents, trade unionists and supporters of the Yellow Vest movement. Hundreds of thousands of people marched in Paris and some 30 other cities on Saturday. Most demonstrations were peaceful, but violent groups attacked police, looted shops and set buildings and vehicles on fire in several cities, according to Reuters.

President Emmanuel Macron vowed to hold accountable those who "sought to bring down the Republic" during the protests. Education Minister Edouard Geffray has met with student protesters repeatedly in recent weeks, but no agreement has been reached.

In Albania, anti-government demonstrations in the capital, Tirana, entered a fifth consecutive day, with protesters demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama over corruption and rule-of-law concerns. Students have marched over university conditions, study costs and bleak job prospects. Clashes turned violent: part of the Education Ministry building was set on fire, and police fired rubber bullets for the first time during the unrest, alongside tear gas, water cannon and pepper spray, AFP reported.

Italy saw a second day of clashes in Milan, where police fired tear gas and water cannons at stone-throwing demonstrators and a supermarket was looted. More than 70 people were detained for identification, according to SkyTG24. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the looting and said she would convene a meeting in Rome to evaluate further measures against those who exploit legitimate demonstrations to sow violence.

Solidarity protests by young people were also held in Belgium, while in Spain and Portugal, demonstrators protesting unattainable rents have set up tent camps.

The immediate triggers differ by country — school funding in France, corruption in Albania, housing costs in Iberia. Analysts say the common thread is a generation that feels the economic model no longer works for it. Young people "feel disappointed with the social model and experience a strong sense of uncertainty and a lack of control," said Maria Silvestre, a professor of sociology at the University of Deusto in Spain. "When specific situations come together, a spark suddenly ignites that is capable of channelling that discontent and driving people into the streets."

Governments across the continent now face the same balancing act: answering grievances over the cost of living and public services while preventing peaceful protest from tipping into the kind of street violence seen this week.

Source: CNN