Cost-of-living protests spread from France to Belgium, Italy and Portugal

Listen to the article4 min, read by a synthetic voice

In brief

How it came to this

17 OctProtests in France turn violent, with arson at the Limoges town hall
18 OctEmmanuel Macron addresses the nation in an emergency televised speech condemning the violence
5 NovGeneral strike planned in France

Protests in France turn violent

On Saturday, 17 October, protests across France that began as largely peaceful rallies over underfunded education and the cost of living turned violent, with clashes, arson and looting. Deutsche Welle reports that more than half a million people took part in the Saturday demonstrations. More than 2,000 people were arrested and hundreds were injured. Protesters set fire to the historic town hall of Limoges, an act that carried particular symbolism. An opinion column in Greek media puts the turnout at 800,000. The government blames far-left and criminal groups for the violence, while the opposition accuses police of repression and says the government has failed to answer social demands.

Macron's response and the EU budget

On the evening of Sunday, 18 October, Emmanuel Macron addressed the country in an emergency televised speech. He described the scenes as a source of shame and anger, condemned the violence, promised that those responsible would be held to account and pledged full transparency in the investigations. European diplomats say the unrest narrows his room for manoeuvre in the negotiations on the EU budget and other Union priorities. The crisis is therefore affecting his standing in Brussels as well as at home.

Unrest spreads to Belgium, Italy and Portugal

In Belgium, clashes with police and dozens of arrests were reported in Brussels and Liège. In Italy, demonstrations and incidents were recorded in Milan and Bologna. In Portugal, thousands marched peacefully in Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra to demand affordable housing and higher wages and pensions. A Greek commentary describes a wider pattern in which young people in France, Belgium, Italy and Albania ask the same question about their futures, each mobilising around a different trigger. In Albania, the anger is directed at corruption allegations and at Edi Rama's leadership.

Migration enters the debate

Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar said the images from France vindicate the strict migration policy of his country. The reporting does not document any link between the unrest and migration. An opinion column argues that the far right stands to gain from the crisis, pointing to Le Pen and her party as the political beneficiary.

Housing costs sit at the centre of the anger

The EU needs 2.25 million additional homes, 50% more than are currently being built. In Madrid, a protest camp at Puerta del Sol grew over several days after the eviction and later death of an 87-year-old woman, whose new owner, a property company, had sought to raise her rent from 500 to 1,650 euros a month. In Florence, a 94-year-old woman facing eviction has seen the rent on an apartment she has lived in for 60 years rise from 450 to 1,200 euros a month. In Greece, 26.4% of residents spend 40% or more of their income on housing, compared with 7.7% across the EU. Some 42.8% of the population lives in households behind on mortgage repayments, rent or utility bills, against 9.2% in the EU. Among people aged 25 to 34, 56.3% (532,000) still live with their parents, compared with 30.1% in the EU.

Housing strain indicators, Greece and EU%

Data from the article text

Why Greece has stayed quiet

An opinion column notes that Greece has not seen street protests on the scale of those in France or the rent demonstrations in Spain. The author links this to the decade of crisis that followed 2008, when mass rallies failed to stop the bailout memoranda and left society exhausted. The column argues that anger has become more individual, appearing as distrust of parties, abstention, cynicism and thoughts of emigrating rather than collective action. It adds that the rallies over the Tempi train disaster were angry but did not turn violent.