In Albania, they carried inflatable flamingos. In Spain, they pitched tents. In Serbia, a red handprint became an accusation. In Manipur on Friday, people banged utensils, beat drums and sounded horns.
Different countries, different languages, different ways of saying: enough.
Across the globe this year, discontent over issues as wide ranging as rent, groceries, fuel, education, voting rights and extremism has travelled to the streets. Here’s a quick list of few major uprisings.
France: Class dismissed, demands pending
French students want teachers in classrooms and buildings fit to study in. Securing those basics has become a national confrontation.
Protests that began in the Paris region in September spread across the country, disrupting hundreds of schools.
The school protests have converged with anger over fuel prices and living costs. Fires, looting and clashes in several cities overshadowed peaceful demonstrations, leaving the government under pressure to address both public services and public order.
Italy: Running on empty
Something similar to France occurred in Italy, where discontent reached the classroom, the motorway and the supermarket.
Students protested against education policies and school conditions; teachers sought better wages and recruitment. “The cost of living is unbearable,” became a refrain.
Violence and looting accompanied a Milan demonstration. Elsewhere, truck drivers protesting fuel prices restricted road access, with farmers joining the agitation.
Reports on October 21 claimed that disrupted deliveries had left perishable food stranded and retailers warning of shortages.
Spain: A roof becomes a rallying cry
An elderly woman’s eviction gave Spain’s housing crisis a face.
Maricarmen Abascal, 87, lost the Madrid home where she had lived for more than seven decades. Her case helped ignite demonstrations nationwide, with protesters camping in public squares and demanding protection against evictions and soaring rents.
Parliament’s rejection of a housing decree intensified the confrontation. Abascal died on October 7 before she could return home under an agreement reached after her eviction.
Thousands marched in her memory, demanding housing security.
The unrest also reshaped Spain’s political calendar. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called a snap general election for November 29 after lawmakers rejected his government’s proposals to tackle the housing crisis.
Albania: The flamingo turns political
Albania’s “Flamingo Revolution” began in late May over luxury tourism developments involving US President Donald Trump’s son in law Jared Kushner’s investment firm near environmentally sensitive coastal areas.
Protesters carried inflatable flamingos, questioning the ecological consequences and who would benefit. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama defended the projects.
By October, students were demanding better education, jobs and action against corruption. Calls to protect the coast had widened into demands for Rama’s resignation.
Violence included attacks on government buildings and banks, while police used tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets. A part of the Supreme Court’s building was set on fire. Rama refused to resign and invited students to talks.
Serbia: Silence becomes a challenge
Serbia’s movement began by counting the dead.
The November 2024 Novi Sad railway station canopy collapse, which killed 16 people, prompted demands for accountability over suspected corruption and negligence. Early protesters stopped traffic for a minute for each victim.
A red handprint, one for each victim, became the movement’s emblem.
The student-led campaign continued through 2026, eventually producing an electoral challenge. Ahead of the October 25 parliamentary vote, the youth-backed Students’ List confronted Aleksandar Vucic’s ruling party.
Large rallies demonstrated its reach. Reports of intimidation, surveillance and media bias raised concerns about the contest; authorities denied accusations of repression and corruption.
Indonesia: A future too expensive
“Heading to Bankrupt Indonesia” was the warning students attached to their June protests.
They challenged higher fuel prices and President Prabowo Subianto’s spending priorities, demanding cheaper essentials and scrutiny of flagship programmes. The government defended its free-meals initiative as a public-health measure.
October brought demonstrations around Prabowo’s second anniversary in office, with economic fragility and forest fires among the grievances. Severe haze also drove student protests across several cities, demanding stronger action and accountability.
United States: ‘No Kings’
America’s anti-Trump movement compressed its argument into two words: “No Kings”.
Demonstrations challenged President Trump’s immigration enforcement, executive actions and the war on Iran. On March 28, rallies spread across thousands of communities.
By October, organisers were increasingly directing participants towards the ballot box before November’s midterm elections.
India: Names on lists, lives on the line
India’s protests this year have carried many demands, from electoral inclusion in Delhi to civilian protection in Manipur.
Opposition parties and youth groups, including the Cockroach Janta Party, have challenged the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and demanded chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.
In Manipur, Kuki and Naga organisations have mobilised separately amid renewed violence. Kuki civil society groups called a four-day highway shutdown over attacks on villages.. Naga women protested against the transfer of Kamjong’s police chief on October 18. These were separate actions with different demands.
On October 23, thousands across the valley districts joined a noise protest against the continuing crisis, banging utensils and sounding horns.
The sound carried a demand heard far beyond Manipur this year: Give people a reason to believe they are being heard.