Violent Cost-of-Living Protests Spread Across Belgium, Italy and France
Protesters clashed with police in multiple European cities over rising living costs and education funding, leading to mass arrests and government condemnations in Belgium and Italy.
A wave of violent demonstrations over the rising cost of living and education funding swept through Europe on October 17, resulting in clashes between police and protesters in Belgium, Italy, and France.
In Belgium, police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds in Brussels and Liege. In the Brussels Bourse district, demonstrators overturned a car and threw projectiles. Bernard Quintin, the Belgian Interior Minister, characterized the unrest as organized violence intended to destabilize society and pledged to take all necessary measures to restore order.
Simultaneous unrest hit Italy, where police deployed tear gas in Milan to clear hooded protesters from the area surrounding the Gothic cathedral and Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. The clashes forced the closure of the Duomo metro station and local shops. In Bologna, police used water cannons to disperse crowds, resulting in seven arrests. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stated that while demonstrating is a right, turning cities into battlegrounds is not.
The unrest mirrored escalating chaos in France, where authorities reported over 32,000 people participating in 140 protests outside Paris. These events included the looting of a Paris supermarket, where a Euronews crew was assaulted, and widespread vandalism in Marseille. Similar protests were also reported in Albania.
