BRUSSELS, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- Waves of demonstrations, sometimes violent, across several European countries have shown mounting grievances and pent-up anger over inadequate housing, poor education and higher living costs.
The latest protests, over the weekend, has intensified pressure on governments already facing fiscal constraints and political divisions. Further demonstrations and nationwide strikes have been called for November.
AN AUTUMN OF DISCONTENT
France saw another large turnout on Saturday, with the Interior Ministry counting 410,000 demonstrators nationwide and the CGT trade union estimating 800,000. Most marched peacefully, but clashes erupted in several cities. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said Monday that 1,435 people had been arrested.
Around 50 shops were damaged, and retail activity fell about 80 percent, according to Alain Di Crescenzo, president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of France, on Monday. Many shops closed as a precaution following violence on Oct. 17.
"Every weekend, around 2 percent of annual turnover is lost," Crescenzo said.
The protests pointed to falling purchasing power and worsening public services, following demonstrations by high school students in mid-September over teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms and deteriorating school buildings.
In Italy, demonstrations against rising living costs and increased military spending hit several cities. Clashes were reported in Rome, Bologna and Turin, with police using tear gas and water cannons during confrontations.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the violence, saying authorities must protect peaceful demonstrators as well as people working and living in the affected cities.
The chaos has created additional pressure on businesses. The Italian business association Unimpresa put potential economic loss at 14.13 million euros (about 15.8 million U.S. dollars), from precautionary closures and protective measures across 11 cities.
Housing remains a central grievance in Spain and Portugal, where protesters have occupied public squares to demand more affordable homes and stronger tenant protections.
Thousands demonstrated again in Lisbon and Porto on Saturday, with smaller gatherings in Coimbra and other Portuguese cities.
In Madrid, the issue has drawn people whose qualifications and employment have failed to secure an independent home.
Claudia, who works in the documentary film industry, holds two bachelor's degrees but still lives with her parents. Asked about whether she could afford to rent a place of her own, she told Xinhua: "That's simply impossible."
"Housing is a very serious problem, and I am directly affected by it," Paula, a trainee lawyer, said, explaining why she joined the protests.
PRESSURES THAT FEED ONE ANOTHER
The current frustration has built up over years, with accumulated price increases coupled with renewed inflationary pressure.
Euro area annual inflation rose to 3.8 percent in September from 3.2 percent in August, according to Eurostat. Energy prices climbed 18.9 percent year-on-year, adding to pressure on household budgets.
Price shocks have added on an already heavy burden for many. An analysis published on the European Central Bank's blog showed that euro area food prices remained around 30 percent above their end-2021 levels. Although wages had recovered relative to overall consumer prices, their purchasing power in terms of food remained below its pre-surge level.
"Protests do not necessarily erupt at the peak of an inflationary shock, but rather afterward, when households realize that improving macroeconomic conditions are not accompanied by an actual decline in prices," Pablo Sanz, a professor at Spain's National University of Distance Education, told Xinhua.
He Zhigao, an associate professor at the Institute of European Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said economic difficulties were widening divisions between generations and among regions, increasing feelings of deprivation and abandonment among young people.
Governments face growing demands to address those divisions while their capacity to spend is constrained, He said, stressing that weak growth and fiscal deficits make welfare commitments even harder to sustain.
He said that economic and social dissatisfaction has been feeding polarization and challenging mainstream parties' ability to govern.
Lenaik Dumont, president of Belgium's French-speaking students' federation FEF, said the organization had continued meeting political officials but had not received sufficient answers to its demands over education costs and study conditions.
"There is a difference between being received and being heard," Dumont told Xinhua. "Dialogue is meaningful only if it allows decisions to change."
"LONG WINTER" AHEAD
The calendar of planned actions suggests that mobilization will continue through November, with disputes over budgets, wages and public services in focus.
In France, Yellow Vest organizers have called for more demonstrations on Oct. 31, followed by nationwide strikes called by the CGT alongside other unions on Nov. 5. The unions are challenging the government's proposed 2027 budget choices and demanding higher wages and stronger public services.
Spain's two major trade unions CCOO and UGT are preparing a nationwide strike on Nov. 11 over housing, precarious employment and purchasing power decline, while Italy's largest trade union confederation CGIL has announced a general strike for Nov. 20 over employment, wages, pensions, public healthcare and social rights.
In Belgium, the FEF plans an education mobilization on Nov. 17. Major unions have also called for a demonstration in Brussels on Nov. 23, while the General Labor Federation of Belgium (FGTB) has threatened a possible general strike that week if the government's budget decisions cross its stated red lines.
Governments are responding.
After French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu met student representatives on Monday, the French government announced measures including replacing the university admissions platform Parcoursup by the start of the 2028 academic year, opening 15,000 additional higher education places and funding improvements to school and university buildings.
In Portugal, a proposed rental reform aims to encourage housing supply, but tenant groups fear that its provisions will increase their insecurity.
Sanz, the professor at Spain's National University of Distance Education, warned that replacing a government alone could not resolve persistent housing shortages, weak productivity and age-related fiscal pressures.
Lasting solutions require consensus extending beyond a single electoral term, he said.
Gregoire Roos of Chatham House said that France's violence was giving competing political forces new opportunities to mobilize anger against a weakened center. He said that further political fragmentation in France and Germany would undermine Europe's resilience.
In a commentary on Friday, Michael Froman, president of the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations, urged Europe to tackle the underlying problems.
"For its own sake as well as ours, Europe needs to address the structural weaknesses that are fueling both the protests and the geopolitical dependencies," Froman wrote. "Until they get their houses in order, we are all in for a long winter." ■
