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Back|Why protests are spreading across Europe, as France imposes first curfews
Why protests are spreading across Europe, as France imposes first curfews
Developing
ABC Top Stories·1 hour ago·World·2 min read·🇦🇺Australia

Why protests are spreading across Europe, as France imposes first curfews

protestseuropecost of living

Quick Look

Hundreds of thousands of people have protested across France, Spain, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, and Albania since September, driven by cost-of-living pressures, public sector cuts, housing evictions, and government corruption, with violent clashes in Paris and Lille prompting curfews and warnings of further unrest ahead of national elections.

AI-generated summary

Why It Matters

The protests began in France over education staffing shortages but expanded to include broader cost-of-living concerns and public sector cuts, spreading to neighboring countries where local issues such as housing evictions and government corruption fueled demonstrations.

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Protests are sweeping across Europe, with hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets in dozens of cities across the continent.

The first demonstrations started in France last month and since then, the unrest has spread to six countries.

While there are some shared grievances (in particular, the cost of living), issues can also differ significantly depending on the location.

Curfews have been announced in parts of Paris and Lille after some rallies turned violent, with hundreds of arrests amid looting and extensive damage to businesses and public buildings.

Now, analysts are warning the discontent could propagate in more countries in the coming weeks.

This is what you need to know.

Why are people protesting?

The demonstrations can be traced back to September 17, when teachers at a high school in south-eastern Paris protested about staffing shortages.

Students subsequently joined in, and it did not take long for the unrest to spread to other schools around the country.

What started about education has broadened to include general cost-of-living issues and cuts to the public sector.

The gatherings in France have been becoming more violent, and at the weekend hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets around the country.

In some areas, shops were looted and historic buildings were vandalised or even torched.

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French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the "unbridled violence" in a television address on Sunday night and blamed radical left vandals for hijacking a movement which has legitimate concerns.

Around the same time as the French protests started, people in Madrid began demonstrating after an elderly woman was evicted from her home of 70 years by an investment firm, which had hiked her rent by 230 per cent.

Maricarmen Abascal, 87, died in hospital two weeks after being forcibly removed from her apartment.

The unrest has spread, and now rallies are being held in multiple countries. This is where and when the first demonstrations were recorded:

France, September 17

Spain, September 26

Belgium, October 1

Italy, October 5

Portugal, October 10

Albania, October 12

And this map shows where the largest protests have been held.

How did we get here?

France has the Eurozone's second largest economy. But the government is struggling with high debt, a large budget deficit and rising borrowing costs.

This year, it will spend more on servicing its debt than defence or education.

While the state of schools and teaching resources have been a significant focus in France (particularly fuelling the initial gatherings), there are multiple issues drawing people on to the streets around the continent.

Most are linked to the rising cost of living. Here's an overview:

What the impact of the demonstrations has been really depends on where you are.

In France, officials in Paris on Monday encouraged their regional counterparts to impose curfews, while Spain is heading for snap elections on November 29, which were called by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez shortly after housing reforms aimed at curbing public outcry, which he proposed, were rejected by legislators.

The issues in Albania are slightly different to those in Western Europe. Government corruption is one of the main reasons drawing people to demand change in the capital Tirana, where politicians have been accused of using sneaky tactics to approve a luxury coastal development linked to the Trump family.

What could happen next?

In France, the government has held crisis talks, with curfews announced for parts of Paris and Lille. It came after protesters pledged to escalate their action in the coming days.

The country is less than six months out from a presidential election, and political parties have blamed each other for fuelling the violence.

Far-right political leader Marine Le Pen, for example, laid blame squarely at the feet of government, describing France as being "trapped, even held hostage, between violence and helplessness".

In fact, Europe is heading for what some experts have described as a "super cycle" of national elections, which could fuel tensions as multiple countries head to the polls in the next 12 months.

In Albania, meanwhile, Prime Minister Edi Rama has pledged to stay on despite facing calls to resign, so the protests that have stretched police appear likely to flare up again.

Governments in Italy, Portugal and Belgium have all condemned growing violence, and not offered concessions.

Smaller demonstrations have also been noted in Greece, Austria, Ireland and Germany over the past few weeks.

What to Watch

AI outlook — possibilities, not facts

  • Protests will continue and potentially spread to additional European countries in the coming weeks

    Likely · Within weeks

  • Curfews may be extended in French cities if violence persists

    Possible · Within days

  • Snap elections in Spain on November 29 will proceed amid ongoing unrest

    Very likely · Within weeks

Open Questions

  • ?Will the protests lead to policy changes in any of the affected countries?
  • ?How will the upcoming national elections influence the trajectory of the unrest?
  • ?Are there coordinated efforts among protest movements across borders?
  • ?What long-term economic impact will the sustained demonstrations have?

Related Topics

protests
PeopleEmmanuel MacronMaricarmen AbascalPedro SanchezMarine Le Pen
OrganizationsOffice of the President of FranceOffice of the Prime Minister of SpainNational RallyOffice of the Prime Minister of Albania
PlacesParisLilleMadridTirana
Topicseuropecost of livingfrancespainalbaniahousing
This article was originally published by ABC Top Stories.

Quick Look

Hundreds of thousands of people have protested across France, Spain, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, and Albania since September, driven by cost-of-living pressures, public sector cuts, housing evictions, and government corruption, with violent clashes in Paris and Lille prompting curfews and warnings of further unrest ahead of national elections.

AI-generated summary

Story signals

News tone
Negative
Emotional intensity
High
News value
High
Global impact
Global
Urgency
Developing
Follow-up likelihood
Very likely
Relevance window
Weeks

Source & Reliability

Source
ABC Top Stories
Story type
Analysis
Source quality
Full
Published
1 hour ago

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