Protests against cost of living spread in Europe after demonstrations in France

The protests against the cost of living held in France also spread into smaller-scale demonstrations, but with the same theme, in other European countries, such as Portugal, Italy, Belgium and Albania.

Until this Saturday afternoon (17), French authorities registered 140 acts outside Paris, in cities such as Marseille, Lille and Lyon, amid dissatisfaction with rising prices, inequality, cuts in public spending and the conditions of services such as education.

More than 800,000 people participated in the protests, a French minister told AFP. According to the Ministry of the Interior, 400 people were detained across the country. President Emmanuel Macron's government blames the wave on what it calls the ultra-left, and the police used tear gas in confrontations with protesters.

Like the French, Italian protesters were dispersed by police with tear gas during a march around Milan's Gothic cathedral.

According to the corporation, some of the participants started a confrontation and threw stones and other objects, leading stores to lower their doors, tourists to flee the place and the closure of a subway station.

In northern Italy, in Bologna, police tried to disperse crowds with water cannons, and seven people were arrested after a demonstration turned more violent.

The same method was used in Brussels, the capital of Belgium, against students who chanted anti-fascist slogans and protested against the rising costs of education and reforms that, according to them, will make higher education less accessible. There were also student acts in Liège.

In Portugal, where property prices have doubled since 2017 and caused a housing crisis, people took to the streets of Lisbon in protest against housing costs and other expenses. The police did not release an audience estimate, while the CGTP, the largest union center and organizer of the demonstration, spoke of "tens of thousands" of participants.

"I'm the first person in my family to enter a doctoral program and, even with everything I studied, I still can't support myself. At the moment, housing in Lisbon is the problem," biologist and researcher Carolina Cruz, 26, told Reuters news agency.

Carolina says she receives around €1,300 (around R$7,400) per month, but may have to leave the apartment she lives in with her partner in the Portuguese capital — they pay €716 (R$4,000) in rent, but renewing the contract could increase the amount to €1,200 (R$6,900).

Carlos Abreu Amorim, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, said on Friday (16) that the "government will not give in to the screams coming from the streets" and that measures to respond to concerns were already being implemented.

The Portuguese stance on the protests is similar to the French. This Saturday, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu stated that France will not be "intimidated" by violence.

"To those who clearly want to use this violence as a 'warm-up' before the presidential election, I say very clearly: we will not be intimidated. No one will impose their political agenda through violence", wrote Lecornu in a publication on X.

In Albania, students calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama, who is serving his fourth term, were hit by rubber projectiles fired from shotguns by police. The Albanian protests are motivated by perceived corruption in the government, a lack of jobs and the low quality of education.