From electoral disputes in India to anger over rising living costs in France, people across different continents are taking to the streets over a range of political and economic grievances.
While the protests vary in scale and nature, they reflect growing frustration over political leadership, public services, living standards and demands for change. Some demonstrations have turned violent, with clashes between protesters and police prompting the use of tear gas and water cannon to disperse crowds
Here’s a look at the protests unfolding across four countries and the issues driving people onto the streets.
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1. India
Central New Delhi has seen a heavy security presence in recent days, with thousands of armed personnel deployed as young protesters demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and struggle to find a place to stage a sit-in.
The demonstrators are calling for sweeping electoral reforms following allegations of irregularities in the country’s voter rolls.
The protests mark a fresh challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, coming less than three months after the same movement helped bring about the resignation of India’s education minister.
Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke reacts as he leaves after the Special Executive Magistrate ordered him released in New Delhi on October 17, 2026 a day after police detained him amid ongoing protests
Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the “Cockroach” youth movement, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), was released by a court on Saturday, a day after being detained while attempting to lead another rally in New Delhi calling for Kumar’s resignation.
Dipke was detained on Friday as he stepped out of a house in central Delhi. Police officers were seen taking him into a police car following a brief argument before driving away.
CJP’s head of legal affairs, Ratna Singh, said Dipke was released after agreeing to certain conditions but did not disclose the terms.
Authorities also closed Central Park in New Delhi ahead of Friday’s planned rally. Thousands of security personnel were deployed across parts of the city, while yellow metal barricades were erected at key intersections.
Delhi’s municipal authorities said the park would remain closed for two days for “administrative” reasons.
2. France
Clashes broke out between police and protesters in cities across France on Saturday as tens of thousands of people took to the streets to voice anger over rising living costs, declining public services and growing inequality.
By mid-afternoon today, 272 people had been arrested following violent incidents in several cities, including Paris, Marseille, Rennes, Toulouse and Angers, the Interior Ministry said.
The ministry said hooded individuals had been involved in attempted looting, confrontations with police, fires targeting street furniture and attacks on government buildings and media outlets. It blamed the unrest on what it described as the “ultra-left”. In Lyon, in east-central France, protesters also set fire to a tourist office.
The demonstrations began last month at high schools in Paris’s poorer northern suburbs, where anger over teacher shortages and deteriorating facilities grew into a wider movement against inequality, public spending and declining living standards.
Police maintained a heavy presence in central Paris, particularly around landmarks such as the Champs-Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe.
The unrest comes as President Emmanuel Macron enters the final stretch of his presidency amid a fragmented political landscape and mounting pressure over the economy. He urged calm on Friday as the protests continued to spread.
Police tactics have also come under scrutiny following several injuries among demonstrators. In the southern city of Saint-Etienne, a protester had his hand blown off by a police crowd-control grenade on Saturday, a police source told AFP. The source did not specify whether the device was a stun grenade or a tear gas grenade.
3. Albania
Police in Albania fired what appeared to be rubber bullets at protesters on Saturday, the fifth day of mass demonstrations led by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama.
Clashes erupted outside the education ministry in the capital, Tirana, as protesters threw rocks at police and set litter bins on fire, using them as barricades to prevent officers from advancing.
Police responded with water cannon, pepper spray and tear gas, leaving streets covered in thick smoke.
Reuters video footage showed police firing a shotgun towards crowds during the clashes. Reuters reporters found rubber pellets on the ground, while two journalists and several protesters were struck by pellets, leaving round marks.
The violence marks an escalation in unrest that has gripped central Tirana since Tuesday, with thousands taking to the streets over university conditions, high tuition fees and wider grievances against the government.
The demonstrations have also been fuelled by anger over perceived government corruption, a lack of job opportunities and poor education standards. Protesters have burnt government buildings and banks and hurled rocks at police.
The movement has drawn support from people who felt ignored during a summer of largely peaceful protests against a luxury coastal development backed by Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.
The unrest poses the biggest challenge yet to Rama, who won a fourth consecutive term in office last year.
4. Belguim
Belgian police fired tear gas and used water cannon to disperse hundreds of demonstrators in Brussels and Liege on Saturday, as protests over the cost of living turned violent, echoing unrest in neighbouring France.
Several hundred people gathered near Brussels’ central railway station following calls on social media. Authorities later authorised a protest march, but police said they used water cannon to disperse groups that threw fireworks and flammable liquids.
In the capital’s Bourse district, police fired tear gas at youths who threw bottles and other projectiles, an AFP journalist reported. Police said about 10 people were arrested.
Rubbish bins and electric scooters were set on fire, while a Socialist Party office was vandalised during the disturbances.
High school students have staged protests in recent weeks against higher university registration fees. However, Interior Minister Bernard Quintin blamed Saturday’s violence on what he described as “organised violence”.
Police also used water cannons to disperse smaller groups of demonstrators in the eastern city of Liege, where clashes had broken out 10 days earlier, AFP reported.
Inputs from Reuters, AFP