🇪🇺Hot season
Europe is restless this autumn. In September–October, more than 830,000 people took to the streets in France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Portugal and Austria. Over 1,600 were injured and about 9,500 detained.
Most protests are driven by the cost of living — expensive fuel, rent, and shortages of teachers and deteriorating schools. Each country has its own trigger, from the eviction of an elderly woman in Madrid to a ban on Islamic headscarves for schoolgirls in Austria.
In France, school protests over teacher shortages and the condition of buildings were joined by unions, “yellow vests,” farmers and those angry about the cost of living. On 17 October the Interior Ministry counted 550,000 participants; organizers claimed about 800,000. Most marches were peaceful, but arson, looting and attacks on town halls gave the protests a different tone. Unions call for continuation, with a general strike planned for 5 November.
In Italy, a “Day against Meloni” was moved to October to catch the French wave. It began with complaints about schools, funding and a reform limiting the share of foreign-origin pupils, but by 17 October adults joined students. In Rome the CGIL union marched; in Milan a cost-of-living protest ended in riots; in the south truckers and farmers have been picketing for a week.
In Spain the trigger was the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal in Madrid and parliament’s refusal of emergency tenant protection. Actions took place in about 50 cities; Madrid’s march drew 70,000 according to authorities. The protests produced results: on 7 October the government re-approved two housing decrees previously rejected by parliament. Separate clashes occurred in Pamplona around a speech by right-wing blogger Vito Quiles.
In Belgium about 30,000 people protested on 1 and 9 October against the cost of living and for education reform; 294 were detained. In Lisbon more than 10,000 demonstrated on 17 October against housing prices and for higher wages and pensions; some set up tents in the central square. In Austria about 2,500 protested against the ban on Islamic headscarves for schoolgirls, without injuries or arrests.
France is closest to prolonged confrontation with the police. In Italy it remains unclear whether students, unions and farmers will merge into one movement. Spanish protesters have the best chance of concessions — they have already forced the government to call early elections.
No pan-European revolution is visible. Neighbors borrow forms and triggers from each other, but the content differs: prices and schools in France, rent in Spain, cultural restrictions in Austria. The near-term scenario is not a single wave but a series of national crises, each with its own rhythm.