Students set fire to Albania's education ministry in Tirana, most violent clashes since May

Second day of clashes in Tirana

Student protests in Albania turned violent for a second consecutive day on Wednesday, 14 October 2026, as the centre of Tirana became a battlefield. Protesters threw bricks, stones and Molotov cocktails at the Education Ministry, and fire broke out in offices on the building's first floor, whose windows had already been smashed in the previous day's clashes. Protesters also set fire to a bank, and an eyewitness cited by Reuters described a fire at a nearby Raiffeisen Bank branch. Albanian media reported damage and fire at a branch of the microcredit firm Iute Credit. Video footage showed demonstrators tearing metal barriers from the pavements, overturning rubbish bins and building barricades.

Arrests, injuries and the police response

Police said more than 12 people were arrested on Tuesday, 13 October, the first day of disorder, and that six officers were injured. On Wednesday, 14 October, AFP reported 16 arrests and said authorities were still looking for other people who took part in the clashes. Albanian media cited at least 20 detentions by the afternoon and five injured, including one police officer, but these figures come from different updates and it is unclear whether they cover the same period. The Health Ministry said four protesters and one police officer needed medical help during Wednesday's clashes. Three of the protesters were taken to the Mother Teresa University Hospital with light injuries, two were discharged, and the third remained under observation with no risk to his life. The officer left after receiving first aid. Six more people hurt in the previous day's clashes were still in hospital, including three protesters and three passers-by, one of whom was due to undergo surgery.

Video of a detained man and police suspensions

A video showed a 19-year-old man with a broken leg, appearing to faint, being carried roughly by police officers near the parliament building instead of being given first aid. He said he had no connection with the gathering and had only been passing through the area. After the video was published, police suspended the head of the public order department of a police station along with other officers. Reports differ on the number suspended: one account refers to four officers plus the department head, while the official announcement cited refers to five officers. The Director General of the State Police ordered the suspensions, and the force's professional standards directorate opened a disciplinary inquiry into the incident and the treatment of the young man.

Demands and the government response

Organisers said the protests concern conditions at universities, the cost of higher education, financial support for students and job prospects after graduation. The demonstrations have taken on a wider anti-government character, with people of all ages taking to the streets to protest social inequality and government policy, and students have called for the resignation of Edi Rama's government. Deputy Albana Kotsiu responded on Facebook and stressed the following:

Protest is a legitimate right, but it cannot be used as a pretext for violence, destruction in the city or ugly clashes

She called on students and citizens defending the right to protest to distance themselves from violence and vandalism. Lulieta Kola, one of the participants, argued that the gap between rich and poor in Albania has become especially wide:

What Albania needs is a revolution, a change, a complete overturning of the system, because this cannot go on any longer.

A wider wave of student protest in Europe

The Albanian protests are part of a broader wave of student activity across Europe centred on education and living conditions. In France, high school pupils have held protests and blockaded schools for weeks, demanding more teachers and better facilities, and say deteriorating school buildings and overcrowded classrooms undermine teaching. Similar demands have come from pupils and students in Belgium. In Albania, students at the University of Shkodra also stopped attending classes in solidarity with the Tirana protesters and condemned what they said was police violence on the previous day. Students from the Medical University, the Polytechnic, the Law faculty and other Tirana faculties boycotted lectures on Wednesday, 14 October and marched towards the Education Ministry.

1. 2026-05Anti-corruption protests begin in Albania
2. Oct 13, 2026First day of clashes: more than 12 people arrested and six police officers injured, according to police
3. Oct 14, 2026Protesters set fire to the Education Ministry and a bank branch; police respond with tear gas and water cannons