Rising food and fuel prices, a lack of funding for education, the state of public services and high housing prices and rents have created an explosive environment for protests in Europe, BTA reported, citing the AP.
For weeks, crowds have taken to the streets of major cities, leading to arrests, looting, injuries and violence in France, Italy and Albania. Tent camps have sprung up in Spain and Portugal to protest exorbitant rents and utility bills.
Young Europeans are feeling “a strong sense of insecurity and lack of control,” says Maria Silvestre, a sociology professor at the University of Deusto in Spain.
“When certain circumstances come together, suddenly there is a spark that can channel this discontent and bring people onto the streets,” she adds.
Cities are becoming battlegrounds as major EU economies, including France, Italy and Spain, approach key elections. Meanwhile, far-right parties are making electoral gains in Germany and could do so in other countries.
All of this is also happening at a critical time for European support for Ukraine. President Donald Trump has made diplomatic gestures toward Russian President Vladimir Putin as Russia is accused of increasingly frequent hybrid attacks on NATO countries.
Right-wing politicians are taking advantage of the chaos. While the protests in France appear to have broad support from various social groups, Trump blamed immigrants for the destruction in a post on his social media platform Truth Social yesterday. “Migrants have taken over France. They must CLOSED THE BORDER FAST!“, he wrote.
Many of the protests have been fueled by the frustration of young people. Other participants, including masked figures dressed in black, have contributed to the outbreak of violence. However, the French authorities and the police have not blamed the immigrants for what is happening.
Here is what is behind the wave of discontent in different countries.
France: dissatisfaction with the state of French schools has grown into wider protests
In France, which has a centuries-old tradition of mass public protests, high school students have been organizing blockades and demonstrations for more than three weeks. They are demanding more resources for schools, which they say are understaffed and in poor condition, especially in poorer neighborhoods.
The protests have since grown in size, with the French General Confederation of Labor union and other activists joining them while students are on fall break.
The demands of the growing protest movement have now also been linked to rising living costs and public services.
Although hundreds of thousands of people took part in peaceful marches, the weekend's unrest led to 2,400 arrests and serious public order violations in various parts of France. There were lootings in Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Bordeaux. In Limoges, flames engulfed the 19th-century town hall, nearly destroying the building. Some schools were also set on fire.
Students and rioters threw firebombs, and police responded with tear gas. Hundreds of people were injured.
French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the violence on Saturday, accusing far-left activists of trying to cause chaos by attacking buildings and police.
“Those who looted will have to pay for the damage caused, and those who tried to destroy the Republic will be held accountable,” Macron said in a televised address on Sunday.
Spain: Housing crisis and education discontent
In Spain, primary and secondary school teachers began an indefinite strike in Madrid last week, demanding better pay and working conditions. Disgruntled teachers have staged similar strikes in other parts of the country this year.
For weeks, dozens of tents have been set up in Madrid's central Puerta del Sol square to protest rising housing costs. The protests were sparked by the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen from her home, who later died in hospital.
Similar tent camps have since sprung up in other Spanish cities.
Public pressure has prompted the ruling Socialist government to approve measures to provide affordable housing. However, they have not received sufficient support in parliament, leading Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to call snap elections for November.
A general strike has also been called for November - the first in 14 years.
Similar protests against the housing crisis have also erupted in Portugal's largest cities - Lisbon and Porto - as well as in Barcelona, which is among the main centers of the problems with excessive tourism and unaffordable housing in Spain.
The minimum wage in Spain is 1,221 euros, while the average monthly rent for an 80-square-meter apartment is about 1,130 euros, according to an analysis by the business publication “Expansion“.
“Most of my salary goes to rent. My roommate is also struggling to make ends meet, just like me,“ said Diana Manzanares, 20, a waitress who is participating in the tent camp in Madrid. "This is my reality and the reality of most of us who live in this city," she added.
Italy: Protests for jobs, healthcare and higher wages
The "Italy in the Square" movement has mobilized thousands of demonstrators demanding better job opportunities, healthcare, education and affordable housing, as well as higher wages.
According to government data, inflation in Italy rose to 4.2% in September, exceeding the 3.8% rate for the eurozone.
The peaceful marches were followed by riots in Turin and Bologna, as well as in Milan, Italy's financial and fashion capital. There, masked rioters clashed with police, looting shops and setting property on fire.
Police in Milan said 271 people had been arrested, most of them minors, and 14 security forces had been injured during the two days of unrest.
Meanwhile, a newly formed group calling itself the “October 17 Movement“ has announced what it calls a “permanent mobilization”. The organization is calling for demonstrations every Saturday at 3 p.m. in cities across Italy.
Albania: Anti-government protests grow
In the Albanian capital, Tirana, anti-government protests have been ongoing for more than a week.
The clashes escalated after schoolchildren and students joined the broad anti-government "Flamingo" movement, which is demanding the resignation of socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama.
Rama condemned the protesters, saying they had been "ideologized and radicalized" by antifa - a collective term for loosely organized far-left activists in the United States. There, President Donald Trump declared the movement a terrorist organization.
Among the main demands of the protesters in Albania is the fight against corruption.
The name of the movement “Flamingo“ comes from the bird's natural habitat in an area where Rama's government has agreed to allow construction work on a large-scale luxury tourism project linked to Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law.
According to the movement's website, protesters are also demanding protection for healthcare, education and state pensions.
Serbia: Students Against Corruption and Political Power
In Serbia, university students, who have been leading mass anti-corruption protests for nearly two years, are opposing the attempt by the Balkan country's former populist leader Aleksandar Vucic to return to power through parliamentary elections.
The former authoritarian president is seeking to be appointed prime minister after the October 25 vote.
The election battle is expected to be a close one between Vucic's party and the supported from the youth party “Student List“. This makes the outcome of the vote uncertain and increases fears of possible violence.