Hawzah News Agency- More than 500,000 people took part in marches across dozens of French cities in a movement that brought together student protests that had continued for nearly a month and broader public discontent over rising prices, cuts in public spending, and deteriorating essential services.
The demonstrations initially focused on conditions in schools and teacher shortages in working-class suburbs before expanding to encompass wider demands related to inequality and the cost of living.
On Monday morning, October 19, students also blockaded the entrance to the Louvre Museum in Paris to express their “support” for secondary-school students taking part in the protests and denounce what they described as “police repression,” according to the museum’s management and two trade unions.
In Limoges, rioters set fire to the historic town hall, a building listed as protected heritage. In Bordeaux, a group of masked individuals broke into the residence of a local official. The interior minister said hundreds of shops had been damaged.
Meanwhile, the anger has spread beyond France to other European countries. Cities across Italy, including Milan and Turin, have witnessed similar confrontations during demonstrations against the rising cost of living, while protests in Albania have intensified amid allegations of corruption, a shortage of job opportunities, and declining education standards.
Several Italian cities witnessed clashes similar to those in France, as demonstrations against the rising cost of living turned violent, reflecting the spread of social discontent beyond French borders.
Italy’s ANSA news agency reported that Milan was the main flashpoint. Masked young people dressed in black hurled fireworks and bottles at police in Piazza del Duomo, in the city center, and erected barricades that forced security forces to retreat temporarily and wait for reinforcements.
Clashes also spread to Turin, Bologna, and Bergamo, where demonstrators threw stones and fireworks at police.
In Albania, the protests took on a more explicitly political character, with growing calls for Prime Minister Edi Rama to resign amid allegations of corruption, a lack of jobs, and declining educational standards.
with growing calls for Prime Minister Edi Rama to resign amid allegations of corruption, a lack of jobs, and declining educational standards.
Source: Al Manar
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