The European cities facing protests from Paris to Milan as continent gripped by cost of living crisis
Por James C. Reynolds — – World RSS Feed
The European cities facing protests from Paris to Milan as continent gripped by cost of living crisis
Mass protests over the rising cost of living and worsening standards have thrown Europe into turmoil
James C. Reynolds Monday 19 October 2026 11:02 BST
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Violent protests have broken out across Europe amid growing frustration over the cost of living crisis, a lack of affordable housing and deteriorating school conditions.
As many as 550,000 people turned out across France on Saturday, according to authorities, to demonstrate against declining public services. Protests turned violent in Paris as shops were looted and cars set on fire in some of the city’s worst violence in years.
Young people waved Italian flags and let off flares in Milan as they rallied against rising the rising cost of living in scenes that were condemned by prime minister Giorgia Meloni.
Police used water cannon and teargas to break up the crowds after some masked rioters clashed with authorities and set off fires.
Tens of thousands of people meanwhile marched through central Lisbon in protest of the soaring cost of living and a deepening housing crisis, echoing weeks of demonstrations in Spain that prompted prime minister Pedro Sanchez to call a snap general election.
Pressure was also on Albania’s prime minister Edi Rama after a sixth consecutive day of protests over poor university conditions, high tuition fees and corruption, which saw hours-long violent clashes with police on Sunday.
open image in galleryFrance
France continues to be rocked by mass protests taking place nationwide, gathering momentum from student-led demonstrations that began last month in response to overcrowded classrooms and teacher shortages.
Authorities said more than half a million people turned out to march on Saturday, including 110,000 in Paris alone. Organisers put the figure closer to 800,000.
While hundreds of thousands protested peacefully across France on Saturday, violent fringe groups targeted public buildings, looted luxury boutiques and supermarkets, and attacked police vehicles and officers.
open image in galleryFrench president Emmanuel Macron appealed for calm on Sunday as some of the protests boiled over into violent clashes with police. The government has blamed the violence on what it said were ultra-left groups, as well as criminals it said had instigated the looting.
More than 2,400 people were arrested across France, while nearly 1,000 officers were injured, according to the government. Police fired tear gas in Paris on Sunday afternoon and protesters set fire to piles of bicycles.
One protester died on Saturday after suffering a cardiac arrest during demonstrations in the capital.
open image in gallerySpain
Tens of thousands of people have turned out across Spain in recent weeks following the eviction of 87-year-old Maria del Carmen Abascal, known as Maricarmen, from her Madrid home.
The pensioner was forcibly removed from her flat of 70 years after the property was bought by the investment firm Urbagestion, which tried to increase her rent by 230 per cent. She died suddenly in early October, two weeks after she was evicted.
Maricarmen’s death reinvigorated a movement long frustrated by home shortages and surging rents across the country.
open image in gallerySocialist prime minister Pedro Sanchez last month called a snap general election for 29 November after parliament rejected his government’s proposals to address a mounting housing crisis.
Several people who received eviction orders have died by suicide in Spain in recent months.
Italy
Milan police clashed on Sunday with protesters throwing stones and looting shops during demonstrations against crumbling public services and the rising cost of living, a day after similar unrest in several Italian cities.
open image in galleryPolice in riot gear fired tear gas and used water cannons after several hundred hooded protesters broke shop windows and set bins on fire in the area near central Piazza Duomo, sources told Reuters, adding that more than 60 protesters had been detained for checks.
A total of 28 protesters were arrested after similar clashes erupted on Saturday in northern cities including Milan, Bologna, Brescia, Bergamo and Turin, according to a police report on Sunday.
Ms Meloni, facing an election next year, condemned the violence and announced a government meeting on Monday to discuss how to address the situation.
open image in galleryPortugal
Tens of thousands of people also marched through central Lisbon on Saturday to protest soaring living costs amid a deepening housing crisis.
Portugal‘s biggest union, CGTP, which called the rally, said “many tens of thousands” packed one of the capital’s main avenues.
Protesters say low wages are failing to keep pace with housing costs and the rising cost of living, leaving many people struggling to make ends meet.
open image in galleryThe demonstration followed days of growing unrest, including a tent camp set up by housing activists in the northern city of Porto that police cleared in a pre-dawn operation on Monday.
Portugal’s inflation hit 3.6% in September, driven by rising food and fuel prices, the latter up 15% year-on-year following an increase in tensions in the Middle East.
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