A wave of protests across nine countries has been driven by rising living costs, inflation, housing pressures, public spending cuts, and dissatisfaction with governments, with demonstrations ranging from student-led rallies to nationwide political mobilisations.
While the immediate triggers vary by country, many movements have expanded beyond their original demands to address broader economic concerns, including stagnant wages, declining purchasing power, unemployment, and access to public services, according to media reports.
France: School funding cuts and rising living costs
France has experienced unrest on two fronts, with protests over school conditions and education funding cuts merging with wider demonstrations against rising fuel prices and declining purchasing power ahead of the upcoming presidential election.
The protests began with teachers and students raising concerns about conditions in schools and reductions in education funding. They subsequently joined nationwide demonstrations over the rising cost of living.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said 550,000 people had protested nationwide, including 110,000 in Paris. The demonstrations disrupted classes and led to violent clashes.
Belgium: University fees and public spending cuts
Student demonstrations in Belgium began over higher university registration fees and cuts to public spending before expanding into wider protests over the rising cost of living.
Clashes in Brussels and Liege prompted police to use water cannons. Interior Minister Bernard Quintin described the violence as organised action aimed at destabilising society.
Portugal: Low wages and housing pressures
Protesters in Portugal held peaceful marches in Lisbon and other major cities over low wages, inflation and a severe housing crisis.
Property prices in Lisbon have more than doubled since 2017, while rents for new leases have risen by nearly the same amount. The increases have placed growing pressure on young workers and low-income households.
Italy: Stagnant wages and declining purchasing power
Demonstrators in Italian cities, including Milan, protested against stagnant wages, persistent inflation and declining purchasing power.
The demonstrations were smaller in scale than those in France but reflected concerns about the increasing difficulty of meeting everyday living expenses.
Albania: Student protests expand to wider economic demands
Student protests in Albania initially focused on substandard university conditions, high tuition costs, insufficient financial aid and poor employment prospects after graduation.
The demonstrations turned violent outside the Education Ministry in Tirana on 13 October, prompting a police crackdown. The movement has since broadened its demands to include action on youth unemployment, economic inequality and the wealth gap.
US: Rallies against Trump administration
The No Kings network organised nationwide rallies opposing President Donald Trump and seeking to mobilise early voting ahead of the midterm elections.
The demonstrations formed part of a two-year movement of protests against Trump's administration, combining opposition to the president with efforts to encourage electoral participation.
Argentina: Opposition to university funding cuts
Thousands of students, university staff and trade unionists protested outside parliament in Buenos Aires against spending cuts to public higher education under President Javier Milei.
The demonstration was the fifth of its kind since late 2023. The protests followed court rulings directing the administration to comply with a 2025 university funding law.
Demonstrators demanded that the government adhere to the law and address concerns over funding for public universities.
Turkey: Retirees protest inadequate pensions
Retirees and labour groups rallied outside the Constitutional Court in Ankara to protest inadequate pension payments amid persistent inflation and rising living costs.
The demonstrations drew heightened attention after a 60-year-old retired officer fatally shot himself during a rally after speaking about his family's severe financial difficulties.
India: Protests over voter roll revisions
Opposition parties and the satellite political movement Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) led demonstrations in India over alleged irregularities in the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls.
The CJP had previously mobilised protests over alleged paper leaks in the national NEET examination.
The latest demonstrations focused on concerns about the voter roll revision process, adding an electoral dispute to the broader range of issues driving protests across the country.