Young Germans are preparing to take to the streets this Saturday in a new day of protests called in more than 30 cities in the country. The mobilization comes after several weeks of youth and social protests in different parts of Europe, where discomfort over precariousness, housing and lack of opportunities has led thousands of people to demonstrate.
Since mid-September, at least 177 protests have been recorded in 12 European countries. France, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Belgium concentrate the majority of the mobilizations led by generation Z. Although the demands vary depending on the country, many share a concern: the difficulties in accessing housing, the loss of purchasing power and the deterioration of public services.
In Serbia, student protests against corruption, initiated after the collapse of a train station awning in Novi Sad, where 16 people died, have led to an important political change. In Albania, the Flamingo movement, which emerged against large luxury tourism and urban projects, has evolved into an anti-government mobilization that also demands the resignation of the prime minister, Edi Rama. In France, protests began in educational centers against staff cuts and lack of funding. On October 17, they gathered around 550,000 people, according to the Ministry of the Interior, although the unions raised the figure to 800,000. Some demonstrations ended in riots, such as the fire that practically destroyed the historic town hall of Limoges.
The housing crisis has been one of the main drivers of the mobilizations in Spain, Portugal and Ireland. In Spain, the case of Maricarmen Abascal, 87, who had to leave the Madrid apartment in which she had lived for more than seven decades, reignited outrage over evictions and the price of rents. The protests spread to different cities and hundreds of people camped in Puerta del Sol. In Portugal, young people also organized a camp in Lisbon to demand affordable housing. In Ireland, the mobilizations were mainly concentrated in Dublin against the cost of living and difficulties in accessing housing.
In Germany, before this Saturday's call, nearly 175,000 people demonstrated simultaneously in 15 cities against possible cuts in social, health and pension policies by the Government of Friedrich Merz. Youth protests have also emerged against proposals related to military service and increased defense spending. In Belgium, unions and educational groups staged a day of national mobilization against the Executive's austerity plans, which foresee adjustments worth around 10 billion euros. In Italy, for its part, on the weekend of October 17 and 18, there were serious clashes between young protesters and the police in Milan, with looting, burning barricades and destroying businesses.
Public education has been another of the great sources of discontent. In Greece, students and teachers took to the streets of more than 50 cities to denounce the precariousness and lack of financing of the educational system, in addition to demanding better jobs. In Austria, around 30,000 people, according to organizers, demonstrated in Vienna to demand more resources for public universities and avoid possible cuts in staff and services. Meanwhile, in the Czech Republic, thousands of people protested in Prague against a reform of the financing system for public radio and television that they consider a threat to their independence.
The mobilizations reflect a discomfort that goes beyond the specific demands of each country. Job insecurity, rising housing prices, difficulties in becoming emancipated and lack of trust in institutions fuel a shared frustration, especially among young people. It is not a single or coordinated movement, but it is a succession of protests that is placing generational discontent at the center of the European political debate.
