Violent Cost-of-Living and Student Protests Erupt Across Europe

Protests Over Rising Living Costs and Education Policies Strike Across Europe

A wave of demonstrations over living costs, fuel prices, and education policies hit major European cities on Saturday, October 17, leading to clashes in Italy and demonstrations in Albania, Belgium, and Portugal. CNN Indonesia reported that protests in Italy centered on the economic pressures facing workers and students, mirroring concurrent unrest in France, where high school students had protested for weeks, including blocking access to schools to demand more teachers and better facilities, as students argued that deteriorating school buildings and overcrowded classrooms disrupted learning.

In Rome, demonstrators marched toward the Ministry of Education while some participants threw firecrackers at the heavily guarded building, CNBC Indonesia reported. Protesters demanded increased public investment in education and better school facilities, and participants carried banners calling for a general strike on October 30 while attending a student protest in Rome on Friday, October 16, 2026. Meanwhile, the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL) organized large-scale resistance against Giorgia Meloni’s administration.

Clashes Erupt in Milan, Turin, and Bologna as Police Deploy Tear Gas

Demonstrations turned violent in several Italian urban centers on Saturday. In Milan’s Piazza del Duomo, masked protesters hurled fire extinguishers, smoke bombs, and cafe tables at police officers, who responded with batons and water cannons. In Turin, demonstrations took place as part of wave of protests. Initial reports confirmed multiple injuries, including a young woman and a police officer who suffered a head wound, while authorities detained 50 people across the country, as tourists and residents in the city center rushed to seek shelter in nearby shops and apartment buildings.

Student and Worker Unrest Spreads to Belgium and Portugal

The demonstrations extended beyond Italy as hundreds of young people gathered in Brussels, Belgium, on Saturday to protest rising education costs and university reforms, according to Reuters. Belgian police deployed tear gas and water cannons after protesters flipped a car. Bernard Quintin stated on X that the events in Brussels had surpassed peaceful protest and vowed that authorities would use necessary measures to restore order. Simultaneously, thousands of people marched in Lisbon, Porto, and Coimbra in Portugal to demand higher wages, better pensions, and improved public services, and housing, as reported by Harian Jogja, with demonstrations taking place in Lisbon, Porto, and Coimbra, where crowds voiced demands regarding worker welfare and community living needs.

Civil Unrest Continues in Tirana Amid Clashes

Demonstrations also took place in Albania, where protests occurred. For the first time during the demonstrations, police deployed rubber bullets. Student demonstrator Redi Taku told AFP that authorities used rubber bullets despite knowing minors aged 16 and 17 were present among the crowds, while Minister of Justice Toni Gogu condemned the attacks, stating that the targets were independent state institutions rather than the government.

Future Mobilizations Scheduled Across Europe

In Portugal, housing activists began occupation protests in Lisbon’s Rossio Square following earlier police interventions in Porto, signaling sustained mobilization over economic grievances throughout the region, with protests in Lisbon seeing demonstrators move from Cais do Sodre to Rossio Square led by CGTP General Tiago Oliveira alongside union members carrying wage increase banners while chanting slogans against low wages and rising rents and carrying posters calling for housing policies to address affordability, with housing protest encampments scheduled to start in Rossio Square at 17.00 local time or 15.00 GMT (22.00 WIB), while in Porto several thousand people marched from Batalha Square to D. Joao I Square accompanied by about 100 young housing rights activists with posters and a tent as a symbol of the movement, where housing movement spokesperson Cristiana Leal stated that mobilization will continue until living conditions improve and an open public meeting was scheduled at the square at 19.00 local time or 17.00 GMT (00.00 WIB) following police operations ending a Porto housing protest encampment early Thursday morning, prompting Socialist Party leader Jose Luis Carneiro to express solidarity with demonstrators, call for responsible action, demand that security forces ensure proportional use of force, and request explanations regarding the Thursday morning police intervention.

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