Why violent protests are sweeping across Europe over living costs
Protesters march through central Paris amid fires, smoke, police deployments and clashes during nationwide demonstrations against the high cost of living, on October 17, 2026 in Paris, France.
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Anger over the cost of living and pressure on public services has brought hundreds of thousands of protesters onto streets across several European countries, with grievances ranging from expensive housing to poor conditions in schools and universities.
France saw the largest demonstrations at the weekend, with more than 500,000 people marching. Most protested peacefully, but some looted and vandalized shops, set fire to city halls and attacked police officers.
Separate protests also took place in Italy, Spain, Portugal and Albania on Saturday and Sunday. Their immediate triggers differed, although high fuel and energy costs formed part of the backdrop in several countries. The wars in Iran and Ukraine have pushed diesel prices sharply higher across the continent.
There’s no one “single trigger” for the riots, Capital Economics’ Chief Europe Economist Andrew Kenningham told CNBC. The increase in energy costs may be playing a role, but the increase is smaller than in 2022, at the onset of the Russia-Ukraine war, when there were no comparable violent protests, he added.
Nevertheless, the demonstrations pose a shared challenge for governments: how to improve living conditions and maintain public services while supporting households and keeping strained public finances in check.
What sparked the protests?
The demonstrations in France began last month when high school students criticized poor schooling conditions, including shoddy facilities and teacher shortages. They have since evolved into broader protests over living standards and declining public services.
In Spain, housing protests began in September after an 87-year-old woman, Maricarmen Abascal, was evicted following a 230% rent increase by an investment fund. She died a fortnight later.
Thousands of protesters also took to the streets in Portugal on Saturday to demonstrate against soaring housing costs and the cost of living.
“People obviously are protesting on the cost of living with diesel and fuel prices, but mainly on housing costs, which have been increasing substantially all over Europe, but also particularly in Portugal,” Miranda Sarmento, Portugal’s minister of state and finance, said Monday.
In Albania, protesters were angry about poor university conditions and high tuition fees, and called for the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama. Some threw Molotov cocktails and other objects at the police and set fire to cars and litter bins.
In Italy, a march in central Milan on Saturday over living costs also ended violently, with rioters attacking the police with stones and paving blocks and setting fire to barricades.
“The underlying problem is that politicians are not able to offer hope of a better life for many Europeans because the economy is growing only slowly and…
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