Winter of Rage in Europe; From Street Clashes in Barcelona and Tirana to the Crisis of Trust in EU Leaders, Told in Pictures

According to KhabarOnline, the wave of protests in Europe, from France and Italy to Spain and Albania, is spreading as rising living costs, expensive energy and fuel, growing rents and dissatisfaction with governments' economic policies have turned the streets of several European countries into scenes of gathering and clash. In Barcelona, groups of masked individuals turned to looting shops and destroying public property; in Tirana, police used tear gas and water cannon vehicles to disperse protesters, and in Italy hundreds of people were arrested during protests in various cities. At the same time, Germany's Chancellor has spoken of the decline of public trust in EU policies, and the magazine Politico has warned that economic pressures could put Europe on the verge of a tense winter.

Spread of Protests from France to Spain and Albania

After the protests and unrest in France, Italy and Albania, reports indicate that clashes have spread to Barcelona, Spain's second-largest city. According to IRNA, citing the Spanish news agency EFE, after a protest gathering was held in central Barcelona, groups of masked individuals set fire to trash bins, broke into shops and clashed with police.

As the unrest intensified, riot forces entered the scene and protesters, throwing stones at security forces, continued destroying public property and setting fire to trash bins. Municipal forces blocked the routes leading to Catalonia Square, and several shopping centers, including the ‘El Corte Ingles’ chain store, halted their activity.

Catalonia Police also asked citizens to refrain from approaching the area of unrest for their own safety. Reports indicate that a number of people were arrested during these clashes.

According to KhabarOnline, citing Reuters; In Albania, too, thousands of people took to the streets in Tirana, the country's capital, on Saturday to protest against the government. Protesters threw stones in front of the Ministry of Education building and set fire to trash bins. Police used tear gas and water cannon vehicles to disperse the crowd.

A group of protesters then moved toward the headquarters of the Socialist Party and threw incendiary materials at the building. Clashes also occurred near the Bank of Albania, and protesters threw incendiary materials at security forces.

According to Albanian officials, during these unrest events more than 300 people, including police forces and protesters, were injured. The gathering was held following a call by organizers for students and other citizens to join the protests, and groups of university professors, artists and opposition parties had also announced their support for it.

*Protests in Italy

371 People Arrested in Italy's Protests

In Italy, too, protests continued in several cities and, according to the country's media, police arrested 371 people during the recent gatherings and clashes. According to Reuters, among those arrested were 110 individuals under the legal age and 69 foreign nationals.

These protests were held in cities including Rome, Turin, Milan, Florence and Bologna, and in some areas led to clashes between protesters and police forces. Protesters object to the government's policies, rising fuel prices and inflation.

This wave of protest has been continuing in Italy for about a week and has spread at a time when other countries in Europe, especially France, are also facing widespread protests and public discontent.

In Spain too, protests were not limited to the Barcelona unrest. Thousands of the country's citizens, especially retirees, gathered in Madrid on Saturday, October 24, and demanded improved livelihood conditions and increased retirement pensions.

The march was organized by the Pensioners' Movement and labor unions supported it. Protesters demanded an increase in retirement pensions in line with the real inflation rate, raising the minimum pension to the level of the minimum wage, and eliminating the gap between women's and men's retirement pensions. They also stressed the need to protect the public pension system against privatization.

The General Confederation of Labour also demanded facilitating early retirement without financial penalties for workers who have paid insurance premiums for at least 35 years. The union also demanded the repeal of the reforms applied to Spain's pension system in 2011.

*Protests in Tirana, Albania

Merz: The People of Europe Have Lost Their Trust in EU Policies

Alongside the spread of street protests, signs of discontent with the performance of Europe's political institutions have also become clearer. Friedrich Merz, Germany's Chancellor, referring to the challenges facing European countries, said many people no longer trust EU policies.

Merz, in his speech at the congress of the Christian Social Union party in the state of Bavaria, said: ‘Let us speak frankly and openly; many people in Europe no longer trust EU policies.’

Stressing that Germany and other European countries face great challenges, he said EU leaders must act to solve the problems instead of settling for explaining them. Merz also stressed the need to restore public trust and said one cannot simply pass over the problems by providing long explanations about them.

*Protests in Tirana, Albania

Politico: Europe on the Verge of a Hard and Tense Winter

The magazine Politico has also warned in a report on the intensification of social discontent in Europe that a set of economic pressures, from rising rents and energy prices to inflation and the decline in governments' financial resources, has increased public anger in various countries of the continent.

Based on a report that IRNA cited from Politico, rising housing costs, higher energy and fuel prices and weak economic growth have placed an additional burden on households. At the same time, the increased cost of government borrowing in countries such as France, Italy, Spain and Greece has directed resources that could have been spent on rebuilding schools, supporting housing or compensating farmers harmed by drought toward debt payments and bond repayments.

*Protests in Tirana, Albania

These pressures are not seen only in economic indicators, and their social effects are also becoming apparent. Politico, to show the dimensions of this discontent, has pointed to examples from various countries; from looting and clashes in France on the margins of mostly peaceful protests, to disruption in supply chains in Italy and protesters pitching tents in Spain's historic squares.

According to the magazine, European governments, despite the social consequences of the cost-of-living crisis becoming apparent, face serious limitations in solving the problems fundamentally; because many of them face a shortage of financial resources and do not have the ability to respond to all economic and social demands.

Politico has also warned that with the weather turning cold and pressures from the energy crisis continuing, there is a possibility of discontent intensifying in winter. Meanwhile, important elections lie ahead in European countries, and nationalist and populist parties may use public anger and the decline of trust in ruling political currents to strengthen their position.

The report considers France's situation particularly important due to the country's position as the EU's second-largest economy. The widespread protests in France show that economic discontent is no longer limited to a specific group or class; students who had blocked schools for weeks joined the hundreds of thousands who took to the streets against rising living costs on Saturday.

According to Politico, this situation is not unique to France. Carsten Brzeski, a German economist, has also said that in terms of cost-of-living pressure, France's conditions do not differ much from other European countries.

*Protests in Tirana, Albania

Livelihood Crisis and the Challenge of Political Trust in Europe

Together, these developments show that Europe's recent protests cannot be considered merely a set of scattered unrest in a few countries. High prices, rising housing and energy costs, inflation pressure on household incomes and concern about the decline of public services have, in various countries, become a common ground for discontent; although protesters' demands and the form of protests differ in each country.

In Spain, part of the protests is focused on retirement pensions and preserving purchasing power; in Italy, rising fuel prices and inflation are among the axes of discontent, and in France, too, protests are tied to living costs and economic inequality. In Albania and Barcelona, too, gatherings have been accompanied by clashes and destruction of public property, but the available information alone does not show that all these unrest events stem from a single organization or cause. What can be said from current developments is that the livelihood crisis has become one of the important tests for European governments, and how they respond to these demands can affect public trust, the political atmosphere and the electoral competitions of the coming months.

*Protests in Portugal

*Protests in Belgium