Cost-of-Living Protests Hit Belgium, Italy, Portugal and France
Cost-of-Living Protests Hit Belgium, Italy, Portugal and France
Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets across Belgium, France, Italy and Portugal to protest rising living costs, low wages, housing shortages and worsening economic conditions.
In France, more than 550,000 people participated in demonstrations, according to the Interior Ministry, as protests escalated into clashes between demonstrators and security forces.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said 1,200 people had been arrested and 150 police officers injured. Several shops were looted, while fires damaged public buildings in multiple cities.
In Belgium, police fired tear gas and used water cannon to disperse protesters in Brussels and Liège amid demonstrations linked to rising living costs and university registration fees.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people marched through Portugal’s capital, Lisbon, demanding higher wages, better pensions and affordable housing. House prices in the country have more than doubled since 2017, while rents for new leases have risen almost as sharply.
In Italy, protests in Milan turned violent after demonstrators clashed with police, looted shops and set fires in the city centre. Police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the crowds, with at least two officers injured and about 50 demonstrators detained.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the violence, insisting that peaceful demonstrations were a right but setting cities ablaze was unacceptable.
An expert on European Union law and policy, Alberto Alemanno, said France appeared to be at the centre of growing public discontent, warning that similar protests could spread to other European countries, including Greece, Germany and Austria.
The demonstrations come as several European countries prepare for crucial national elections, placing rising living costs, education funding and employment prospects at the centre of political debates.
