Across more than a dozen European countries, young people have taken to the streets in a wave that began with grievances over crumbling schools and staffing, and has widened into anxieties about rent, wages and a future that feels out of reach. Many gather peacefully, while others have turned to riot and looting, and the question of who is driving that violence remains bitterly disputed. The protests arrive in a continent already worn down by a chain of crises that were never fully resolved, and whether this youthful movement will endure, or be absorbed into the politics of order as elections
Europe's Youth Protests: Why a Continent's Students and Young Workers Are Taking to the Streets
Thousands have been arrested across the protests, including a large number of minors, and tear gas and water cannon were used against demonstrators in Brussels.
One crisis layers on top of the other
Mark
Why does this wave feel different from earlier European protests?
Mimi
Because it's simultaneous and young. The reporter has covered Catalonia in 2017 and Athens in 2015, but says this time many countries are moving at once, and some of those arrested are very young.
Mark
How young?
Mimi
In Barcelona last weekend, over half of those detained were under 18. In Milan, LaPresse reported minors among those apprehended.
Luke
Worth noting that's two cities. It tells us minors are present in the clashes, not how many of the thousands arrested overall are minors.
Mark
What ties the countries together?
Mimi
Education complaints, housing costs and the cost of living, organised largely through TikTok and Instagram. France's slogan Lycées Indignés was echoed in Barcelona as #InstitutsIndignats.
Luke
But are the movements actually connected? The piece shows imitation and shared hashtags. It doesn't show coordination.
Mark
Who is behind the violence?
Mimi
French and Belgian intelligence services call the looting mainly opportunistic, and the rioting partly mindless, partly orchestrated by ultra-left youth.
Luke
That's the services' characterisation, and politicians use it selectively. Macron's camp blames the left, Vlaams Belang blames migrants. The article doesn't offer evidence settling either claim.
Mark
And politically?
Mimi
Le Pen is polling well ahead, and it's assumed the unrest helps her. Whether the protests last, as Serbia's did for two years, is an open question.
O Pulso
- Protests that began in France over failing schools have spread within weeks to Spain, Portugal, Italy, Belgium, Greece, Serbia and Albania.
- Tear gas and water cannon met rocks and firecrackers on the streets of Brussels, while looting spread through several cities.
- Governments are answering with mass arrests, many of them minors, and new rules that make parents liable for their children's damage.
- Intelligence services and politicians clash over whether the riots are opportunistic or orchestrated, as nationalist parties watch closely before key elections.
- Organisers are mobilising on TikTok and Instagram, with more mass marches planned in France and Italy in the days ahead.
Across more than a dozen European countries, young people have taken to the streets in a wave that began with grievances over crumbling schools and staffing, and has widened into anxieties about rent, wages and a future that feels out of reach. Many gather peacefully, while others have turned to riot and looting, and the question of who is driving that violence remains bitterly disputed. The protests arrive in a continent already worn down by a chain of crises that were never fully resolved, and whether this youthful movement will endure, or be absorbed into the politics of order as elections approach, is still unsettled.
In Madrid, a tent camp has stood in a central square since late September. It is one piece of a larger pattern: over the past month, young people have filled streets from Milan to Marseille, from Lisbon to Brussels. Most of these gatherings began peacefully, and in many places they ended in violence and looting.
The movement began in France, where students protested staff shortages and dilapidated school buildings. Belgians have a saying that when it pours in Paris, it drizzles in Brussels, and the rain has come. Students in Barcelona took up the slogan Lycées Indignés, and a Greek pupil told AFP that his school was poorly maintained and that, because of France, he hoped something might change at home. Much of the organising happens ad hoc on TikTok and Instagram, a style Belgium's interior minister has dubbed the "TikTokisation" of protest.
The grievances run deeper than schools. In Lisbon, biology PhD student Carolina Cruz, 26, said she may lose her home when her lease ends, and that even as the first in her family to earn a doctorate, she still cannot make ends meet. In Milan, 22-year-old Riccardo said the goal was simply to get people talking again. Even among supporters of Marine Le Pen, young people voiced worries about living costs, immigration and street safety.
Analysts see a continent carrying layered crises, from the 2008 financial crash to the migrant crisis, Covid, inflation and now war in the Gulf. Nathalie Tocci argues that young people are not disengaged but organising in grassroots ways, pointing to Serbia, where a student movement lasting more than two years helped defeat Aleksandar Vučić at the polls. Whether this wave can last is still unclear.
The violence is disputed. Intelligence services in France and Belgium describe the looting as mostly opportunistic and the rioting as a mix of senseless violence and deliberate action by ultra-left groups. Political leaders on the right and centre blame radical activists and delinquents, while others point to the wider social conditions. Governments have answered with thousands of arrests, and Italy's Giorgia Meloni is making parents liable for damage, even deducting welfare support. With elections ahead across the EU's largest countries, and Le Pen far ahead in French polls, many expect the unrest to help parties that promise order.
In Madrid, a camp of tents has stood in a central square since late September. That encampment is one piece of a wider pattern: over the past month, young people have filled streets from Milan to Marseille, from Lisbon to Brussels, in a wave of protest that began peacefully almost everywhere and in many places ended in violence and looting.
The scale varies by country. Thousands rallied in Rome and Florence, hundreds of thousands in France, and tens of thousands, mostly young, marched in Lisbon earlier this month. In Brussels, young men in black with covered faces threw rocks and firecrackers at police, who answered with tear gas and water cannon. In Albania, demonstrators alleging government corruption are demanding that Prime Minister Edi Rama, 13 years in power, step down. Students have taken to the streets in France, Belgium, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Serbia and Albania, a span of more than 1,000 miles.
The BBC correspondent, who has covered European protests for years, from the Catalan independence marches of 2017 to the Athens debt-crisis riots of 2015 and the fuel-tax and pension unrest of Macron's first term, says this one feels different. The protests are simultaneous, and most participants, peaceful and violent alike, are young. Over half of those detained in Barcelona scuffles last weekend were under 18, and Italy's LaPresse agency reported minors among those held after clashes in Milan.
France is the catalyst. Its wave began in late September over staff shortages and dilapidated school buildings. Belgium has a saying that when it pours in Paris, it drizzles in Brussels, and Brussels and Liège have seen weeks of youth protest. Barcelona students were urged to march under the hashtag #InstitutsIndignats, echoing the French slogan Lycées Indignés. Much is organised ad hoc on TikTok and Instagram, which Belgium's interior minister calls the "TikTokisation" of protest. In Athens, 17-year-old pupil Yiannis Papanikolaou told AFP that school buildings are terrible and poorly maintained, and that because of France, he thinks something might change in Greece.
Beneath the school grievances lies broader economic anxiety: the cost of living, fears that AI will take jobs, and housing too expensive to rent or buy. In Lisbon, Carolina Cruz, 26, a biology PhD student, told Reuters she may lose her home as her lease nears its end, and that despite being the first in her family to start a doctorate, she still can't make it. Riccardo, 22, in Milan, told AFP the aim was to get people talking about these issues again. The anger is not only on the left: young supporters at Marine Le Pen's campaign launch told the correspondent they, too, worry about the cost of living, as well as immigration and street safety.
Mark Leonard of the European Council on Foreign Relations describes crises layered one on another and never resolved: the 2007-8 financial crash, the 2015 migrant crisis, the environment, Covid, and inflation after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, now compounded by the war in the Gulf. Nathalie Tocci of Johns Hopkins argues young people are not disengaged, only engaged in grassroots ways, and points to Serbia, where a student-led movement that persisted for more than two years recently defeated Aleksandar Vučić in parliamentary elections. Whether these new protests have that staying power, she says, is unclear.
The violence is contested ground. Intelligence services in France and Belgium call the looting mostly opportunistic, and the rioting a mix of "mindless violence", a phrase Spanish authorities used for Barcelona, and disorder deliberately orchestrated by ultra-left youth. French media have asked whether ultra-left activists and young people from the banlieues have formed an informal alliance of convenience. Macron and the French right and centre blame radical left groups and delinquents. Belgium's Vlaams Belang called the riots "imported", while Interior Minister Bernard Quentin pointed at ultra-left groups.
Governments are cracking down. There have been thousands of arrests, and France and Italy promise a "you break it, you pay for it" approach. Giorgia Meloni is making parents of minors liable for damage, including deducting welfare support. More mass demonstrations are planned in France and Italy in the coming days. With key elections ahead in all the big EU countries, and Le Pen polling far ahead in France, the unrest is assumed to help parties running on law and order.
Citações Notáveis
We tend to think of youngsters as politically switched off, but they are truly engaged, just in a different, more grassroots way.— Nathalie Tocci, Johns Hopkins University
Even if we don't throw the country into chaos, the aim is at least people will start talking about these issues again.— Riccardo, 22, protester in Milan, to AFP
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Crime & Justice