Europe is bracing for a wave of street fury as protests and unrest flare across the continent, driven by soaring living costs, housing pain, and anger over public services. France is facing some of its worst turmoil in decades, with student and union action disrupting huge numbers of schools and clashes spilling into tear gas and mass arrests.
In Spain, tens of thousands are marching in more than 50 cities over rocketing rents, with street blockades and violent confrontations reported. Beyond Western Europe, flashpoints are erupting from Kosovo and Serbia to Moscow, with fresh demonstrations also reported in Georgia, Albania, Türkiye, Slovakia and Greece.
France and Spain hit by major unrest
France is experiencing its most intense civil unrest in decades. A massive nationwide wave of student and trade union protests has shuttered or disrupted up to half of France's high schools. Demonstrators are protesting severe understaffing, teacher shortages, dilapidated school buildings, and broader government budget cuts.
In Spain, tens of thousands of people are taking part in widespread housing rights protests spanning over 50 cities, including Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia. Driven by skyrocketing rental prices and real estate speculation, the demonstrations have escalated into intense clashes with riot police, featuring street blockades and fires in major plazas.
Violent clashes in Kosovo and Greece
Kosovo has just been gripped by intense, violent clashes in its capital, Pristina. Mass anger erupted following a major verdict by the Hague-based international war crimes court, which sentenced former President Hashim Thaci and other commanders of the revered Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) to lengthy prison terms. Protesters have laid siege to parliament and government buildings, throwing stones and firecrackers while trying to block lawmakers inside. They are demanding emergency legislation to aggressively curb the powers of the international court. Riot police have deployed heavy water cannons and tear gas, resulting in numerous civilian and police injuries.
The newest, most acute wave of unrest in Greece is centered on anti-war sentiment and geopolitical pushback against the United States. Mass outrage was sparked by the arrival of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Athens to finalize the sale of advanced F-35 fighter jets and negotiate US military base operations in Greece. Trade unions, student organizations, and left-wing factions are furious over Greece's tightening defense alliances. Thousands of protesters have flooded central Athens, marching from Syntagma Square toward the US Embassy. Greek authorities implemented a blanket 24-hour ban on all outdoor public gatherings and vehicle convoys in central Athens.
Political crises in Serbia, Slovakia, and Georgia
Serbia is under extreme political tension ahead of a highly anticipated snap parliamentary election. Sustained, anti-government, student-led protests have been raging since a tragic railway canopy collapse in Novi Sad killed 16 people. The student-led movement has grown into a formidable political force, officially entering a youth-backed electoral alliance known as the Student List. The pressure has caused total political chaos: the Prime Minister resigned, and President Aleksandar Vučić dramatically stepped down from the presidency to pivot and run for Prime Minister.
Mass protests have been sweeping across Slovakia targeting Prime Minister Robert Fico’s populist-nationalist government. The most recent major wave ignited over a highly contested plan to scrap mail-in voting for Slovaks living abroad. Demonstrators under the slogan "Slovakia is Europe" are further pushing back against Fico’s friendly relations with Moscow. Protests have expanded well beyond the liberal capital of Bratislava, seeing massive turnouts of over 100,000 people across dozens of cities and towns.
Georgia is locked in an intense, ongoing political crisis and pro-democracy movement. Massive public outrage has intensified following a move by the ruling Georgian Dream party to legally ban major opposition parties. Tensions flared further over a widening prison scandal involving allegations of systemic abuse by guards. Demonstrators have repeatedly taken to the streets of Tbilisi, clashing with police.
Unrest in Albania, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, Russia, and Türkiye
Albania's capital, Tirana, has been hit by a wave of highly charged political protests. Citizens and local municipalities are fiercely opposing a controversial new territorial reform bill that proposes merging local government units. The French-speaking Wallonia region and the capital city of Brussels in Belgium are seeing violent copycat student mobilisations, leading to over a hundred arrests.
Italy continues to see widespread labor strikes and public sector protests, heavily concentrated in the transport, healthcare, and public administration sectors. Portugal's education sector remains heavily disrupted due to an indefinite national teachers' strike orchestrated by the FENPROF union. In Russia, unusual and volatile protests have erupted in the heart of Moscow, with a state-approved march organised by the Communist Party transforming into an open anti-regime revolt. Türkiye continues to see tightly suppressed but volatile civil rights and freedom of expression protests, with massive demonstrations centered around LGBTQIA+ advocacy groups in Istanbul.
