Protests over education, public services, housing costs, and living expenses turned violent across several European countries on Saturday night, prompting criminal investigations and calls for stricter penalties from officials.
In France, an estimated 320,000 demonstrators participated in largely peaceful marches across the capital and provincial cities including Marseille, Grenoble, Bordeaux, Lyon, and Toulouse. However, as the rallies concluded, masked and hooded individuals engaged in rioting and property destruction. French interior minister Laurent Nuñez characterized the violence level as “extraordinary.” Prosecutors in Paris initiated a formal investigation for attempted murder after incendiary devices were thrown at a group of approximately 15 gendarmes and police officers. Video footage documented second-degree burn injuries from the incident. Authorities arrested more than 770 people. The violence was notably less severe than an earlier incident on 17 October, which saw substantially higher arrest numbers and widespread commercial looting.
In Germany, demonstrations organized under the “Gen Z regelt” campaign drew over 100,000 protesters across more than 30 cities demanding better education and lower living costs. In Frankfurt, the financial hub, rioting resulted in damage to 17 shops and looting of five establishments. Petrol bombs and other projectiles were deployed against security forces. More than 100 police officers sustained injuries, and 54 suspects aged 13 to 29 were arrested. State interior minister Roman Poseck expressed shock at the violence level. Similar unrest occurred in Cologne, Berlin, and other cities. The Gen Z regelt campaign issued a statement disavowing all violence.
Portuguese riot police forcibly cleared protest camps from Lisbon’s Rossio Square and Porto on Sunday morning, using baton charges and dogs. The demonstrations opposed a government bill expanding eviction provisions and removing rent caps on new leases.
Violence also emerged in Albania, Switzerland, and other locations. In Albania’s capital Tirana, masked protesters hurled stones and firebombs at police during demonstrations against prime minister Edi Rama. Swiss authorities deployed water cannons, tear gas, and rubber bullets in Zürich and Basel against rioters who attacked police and damaged property. German interior minister Alexander Dobrindt called for severe penalties and highlighted what he characterized as involvement from “violent leftwing groups and troublemakers from the migrant community.”
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