MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Cost-of-living protests spread across Europe with unrest in France and Germany

The protests began a month ago at a high school on the outskirts of Paris over the state of schools and widened to the cost of living

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of France and Germany on Saturday to protest against the cost of living and deteriorating public services, in mostly peaceful demonstrations that ended in clashes between police and masked groups in several cities. In France, where the third day of protests in a month took place, 565 people were arrested.

According to France’s interior ministry, some 320,000 people took part in about 150 demonstrations across the country, down from an estimated 410,000 the previous weekend. In Paris, 70,000 marched along boulevards on the outskirts to avoid the city centre, some in Halloween costumes. The protests, called by students, trade unions and former members of the “yellow vest” movement, passed off calmly until the end, when masked groups hurled paving stones at police in Paris, who responded with teargas and baton charges. There were also incidents in Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, where water cannon were used. Four police officers and a gendarme were injured in the capital. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, who had deployed 70,000 officers, denounced an “extraordinary” level of violence and described a petrol bomb attack on a riot officer as “attempted murder”.

The protests began a month ago at a high school on the outskirts of Paris over the state of schools and widened to the cost of living. The first major day, on October 17, ended with the looting of hundreds of shops in several cities. Students announced new blockades of high schools and universities on Tuesday and Thursday, ahead of a trade union demonstration called for November 5.

In Germany, thousands of young people demonstrated in dozens of cities at the call of the group “Gen Z regelt!” (“Gen Z has got this”) “for education, health, the climate and an affordable life”. After largely peaceful marches, police used water cannon in Cologne against protesters throwing fireworks; in Frankfurt at least two shops were looted, according to a Reuters witness, and in Hamburg burning barricades were set up, according to the newspaper Bild.

There were also clashes in Tirana, the capital of Albania, at a new protest demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama. Police were on alert in Barcelona, over calls from an anonymous TikTok network, and in Italy, after recent clashes in Milan, Turin and Bologna.