Tirana student protest turns violent, ministry windows smashed and police use water cannons
Protesters outside Albania's Ministry of Education threw stones and smoke bombs, and police answered with water cannons after demonstrators entered the courtyard.
Clashes outside the ministry
Hundreds of students and citizens gathered outside the Ministry of Education in Tirana on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, to protest against the government. The chanting soon gave way to violence, as demonstrators threw firecrackers, ink, eggs and paving slabs ripped up from the pavement. Windows at the ministry were smashed, and the building's metal fence was torn down, allowing hooded protesters into the courtyard. The protest began around 14:00, and police used water cannons around 15:00 to push the crowd back. Some reports also mention tear gas and pepper spray, and the crowd answered with stones, including at the officers themselves.
After police dispersed the demonstrators, students and others regrouped along Durrës Street in central Tirana, and new people joined them. Footage shown locally captured protesters setting fire to rubbish bins.
- Protest begins outside the Ministry of Education in Tirana, with stones and firecrackers thrown
- Police use water cannons to disperse the crowd
- Protesters regroup along Durrës Street in central Tirana, and new people join
Demands and the Trump-linked hotel project
Protesters demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama along with better conditions in education. Organisers pointed to conditions at universities, the cost of higher education, weak financial support and poor job prospects after graduation. Some participants also voiced broader frustration with social inequality and government policy. The unrest follows more than four months of anti-government protests triggered by a luxury tourism project, which opponents have resisted since late May. That project involves Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner, the daughter and son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, and it has fuelled accusations of corruption and a lack of transparency.
Arrests and official response
Local press reports cited by AFP and Reuters put the number of people arrested at about 12. A Greek report carried a headline referring to dozens of arrests, while its text described numerous detentions without giving a figure, so the total remains unsettled. Deputy Prime Minister Albana Koçiu condemned the violence in a Facebook post.
She listed throwing stones, attacks on institutions and police, and the destruction of public property as methods young people should not use.Violence was not, is not and will never be a solution.
Wider student protests in Europe
The Tirana protest coincides with student mobilisations in other European countries. In France, upper secondary pupils have been blockading schools for weeks, demanding more teachers and better buildings, and they argue that decaying premises and overcrowded classrooms lower the quality of education. Before the protest, a statement accused the government of turning the parliamentary republic into a tyranny that produces only discontent. One protester said Albania needed a revolution and a complete overhaul of the system, because the situation could not continue. Reuters placed the Tirana demonstration within a wider wave of student activism across Europe.