Demonstrations in Portugal, Belgium, France and Italy have focused on distinct local grievances as new EU data show higher energy and housing costs pressing household budgets.
Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical office, said annual euro-area inflation reached 3.8% in September 2026, up from 3.2% in August. Energy prices were 18.9% higher than a year earlier. In the second quarter, EU house prices rose 4.7% and rents increased 3% year over year. Portugal’s house prices climbed 16.5% over the same period.
The Council of the European Union says housing costs account for nearly one-fifth of average EU household income, while about one person in 10 reports missing rent or mortgage payments on time.
CGTP-IN said thousands attended its Oct. 17 rallies in Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra. The union called for higher wages and pensions, better public services and action on living costs. Its demands for 2027 include a wage increase of at least 15%, with a minimum rise of €150, and a €1,100 national minimum wage. CGTP-IN also argued that workers are bearing cost pressures while large business groups record high profits. The union plans another mobilization on Nov. 24, when it expects Portugal’s final state-budget vote.
Belgium’s FGTB union estimated that 50,000 people joined its Oct. 9 Brussels demonstration against austerity. In France, Le Monde reported that a protest at Saint-Exupéry high school in Créteil became a starting point for demonstrations at other schools. The story follows earlier protests in five European countries covered by EconoTimes. French Ministry of National Education data show that public secondary schools missed 15.4 million teaching hours in 2024-25 because absent teachers had no replacement, equal to 7.5% of teaching hours. Full-school closures accounted for another 2.3%.
Istat, Italy’s national statistics agency, reported that harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) inflation reached 4.2% in September, up from 3.2% in August. The Associated Press reported that a Milan march against wars and rising living costs began peacefully before clashes and looting. The Associated Press reported that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wrote on X on Oct. 17, “Demonstrating is a right. Setting our cities ablaze is not.”
