Countries across Europe have been swept by a wave of protests by young people angry at the spiralling cost of living, with little trust in traditional institutions. The protests, which have brought hundreds of thousands to the streets of France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, and Germany, are linked by shared continent-wide issues such as sky-high housing costs, poor pay, and the climate crisis.
School and university students have found themselves at the front line of these protests. The spark was lit in mid-September when French high school students took to the streets to demand better and more facilities, and an end to an opaque university admissions system. Historian Sylvain Boulouque noted that France served as the catalyst for the European movement.
The French protests drew at least 550,000 people on October 17, with largely peaceful demonstrations swiftly eclipsed by episodes of looting, arson, and clashes with the police. In Greece, more than 10,000 people rallied across several cities four days later, with some bearing placards with slogans written in both Greek and French.
Across the continent, many people have found themselves face-to-face with "a model that has run out of steam," said Belgian sociologist Geoffrey Pleyers. What they're being offered is, at best, a job, and for many, a precarious one. Their studies no longer guarantee the standard of living their parents enjoyed due to high housing costs and the risks linked to the climate crisis.
Housing is a central element in many of the protests, directly tied to purchasing power and an ever-more unequal distribution of wealth. In Spain, Portugal, and Greece, protesters have highlighted the issue of rising rents.
Political scientist Mariam Martinez-Bascunan argued that discontent is fuelled more by uncertainty than by poverty. The professor at the Autonomous University of Madrid pointed to the "contagion effect" of images of protests in France and of tent encampments of housing rights activists in Portugal.
For Boulouque, young people are acutely conscious of the weight of the debt and environmental problems left by previous generations and have the feeling of being sacrificed as a result. The youth protests have struck a nerve with the wider public, at a time when Europe is gearing up for a wave of key elections in Spain, France, Italy, and Greece over the coming year.
Key points
- Young people across Europe are protesting against the rising cost of living, housing costs, and job uncertainty.
- The protests are linked by shared continent-wide issues such as sky-high housing costs, poor pay, and the climate crisis.
- The youth protests have struck a nerve with the wider public, at a time when Europe is gearing up for a wave of key elections.
