The key facts
- France: 550,000 participants in 110 demonstrations on 17 October according to the interior minister; organisers put the figure at 800,000; 2,513 detained, around 3,000 businesses damaged
- Italy: the CGIL union has called a general strike for 20 November; after riots in Milan, 271 people were taken to police stations, 32 arrested, including 23 minors
- Spain: after housing decrees were rejected, Prime Minister Sánchez called early elections for 29 November; a housing strike is set for 11 November
The overall picture
School blockades, housing tent camps and mass marches are putting pressure on governments across Europe: protesters are demanding affordable housing, better funding for public services and wages that cover everyday expenses. The movements have different origins, but students, renters and trade unionists are increasingly taking to the streets together. In a number of cities, demonstrations were followed by arson, looting and clashes with police, leading to curfews and mass detentions.
France
The protests began in September in schools in Créteil, a suburb of Paris, where a shortage of teachers sparked demonstrations and school blockades. During the October riots, several participants were seriously injured, including two 17-year-olds: one lost an eye, the other lost a hand in a grenade explosion. Demands for more teachers, smaller classes and improved conditions grew into a broader mobilisation over the cost of living and public services, joined by trade unionists and 'yellow vest' activists. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said that on 17 October, 550,000 people took part in 110 demonstrations across the country, including 110,000 in Paris; organisers, according to Le Monde, put total turnout at 800,000. Peaceful marches in several cities were followed by clashes, looting and attacks on public buildings: in Limoges, the historic town hall building was set on fire at the end of a demonstration. Authorities said around 3,000 businesses and nearly 1,000 law enforcement officers were affected by the violence over the weekend. Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said 2,513 people had been taken into custody after the riots. On Monday, protesters also blocked the entrance to the Louvre. Local night-time curfews have been imposed in parts of Paris, Lyon and other cities. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said the restrictions had helped restore calm and promised a larger police deployment for further demonstrations planned for 24 October.
Italy
School protests gained momentum in early October: students spoke out against insufficient education funding and the deteriorating condition of schools. The mobilisation coincided with discontent over wages, energy prices and public services. The CGIL union and allied organisations are demanding stronger public healthcare and education, higher wages and measures against precarious employment, and also oppose rising arms spending, calling for resources to be redirected to social needs. CGIL leader Maurizio Landini, according to public broadcaster RAI, said more than 100,000 people attended the union-backed rally in Rome on 17 October. He also called for a tax on large fortunes and announced a general strike for 20 November. Separately, riots in Milan over the weekend included burning rubbish bins, smashed shop windows and looting near the cathedral. Corriere della Sera, citing security sources, reported that after the riots on 18 October, police took 271 people to stations and formally arrested 32, including 23 minors. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the violence and on Tuesday announced the deployment of 500 soldiers to Milan to support the police. She said the cabinet had also approved measures to ease the detention of minors and to introduce fines for parents for damage caused by their children.
Belgium
Student protests spread to French-speaking Belgium on 1 October, following the mobilisation in France; the early centre of the demonstrations was Liège. Students are protesting against cuts in education, rising costs of study and reforms which, they fear, will make higher education less accessible. Their demands overlap with trade union resistance to austerity measures. On 17 October, several hundred people demonstrated in Brussels, while 200–250 gathered for a separate march in Liège, according to police. Police later reported 195 detentions in the two cities that day; the protests were accompanied by clashes, barricades and property damage, and police used tear gas and water cannon.
Spain
The eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal from her long-time Madrid home became a rallying point for discontent over housing affordability. A tent camp began at Puerta del Sol square on 26 September, and demonstrations and camps spread to other cities; activists are demanding affordable rents and stronger protection against forced evictions. According to government estimates, 70,000 people took part in the march in Madrid on 3 October, while the renters' union claimed 500,000. More than 50 protests were announced across Spain that day. Housing organisations are also seeking restrictions on investment funds buying up residential property and a broader industrial action on housing. The mobilisation had direct political consequences: after parliament rejected two government housing decrees, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called early elections for 29 November. Tent camps remain in place; according to broadcaster Onda Cero, five people were arrested after clashes at the end of a demonstration in Valencia on 3 October. Major trade unions and housing organisations have called a general strike on housing for 11 November.
Portugal
In October, housing tent camps appeared: protesters are opposing rising rents and living costs, joining trade union demands for higher wages, pensions and funding for public services. Demonstrations took place on 17 October in Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra. The organising union CGTP said 'many tens of thousands' took part in the march in Lisbon; police gave no estimate of numbers. Activists began occupying Rossio square in Lisbon on 17 October, setting up around 200 tents, while a camp on Praça de Dom João I in Porto lasted about 10 days. Police cleared the camps in Lisbon and Porto before dawn on 20 October: in Lisbon, 55 people were detained for alleged disobedience, while in Porto there were no detentions — demonstrators complied with the order to leave. The clearances did not stop the protests: thousands of people returned to the squares of both cities that same evening, and the assembly in Lisbon voted to re-erect the tents. The detainees were subsequently released pending trial. Housing activists are demanding the withdrawal of legislation that makes evictions easier and removes rent caps for new contracts. The CGTP is also demanding price controls on essential goods and higher wages and pensions; among the planned actions is an assembly outside parliament on 24 November during the final vote on the budget.
