Late-October protests across Europe brought housing, education and living costs into focus, while reports from France and Germany showed widely differing turnout estimates for demonstrations.
France’s Interior Ministry counted 320,000 participants at 291 public actions on Oct. 31, including 70,000 in Paris. Its figures were 410,000 on Oct. 24 and 550,000 on Oct. 17. The Associated Press reported an organizers’ estimate of about 500,000 for Oct. 31, compared with the ministry’s count of 320,000.
Reports on Germany’s Oct. 31 protests also gave different turnout figures. An Associated Press follow-up put participation above 100,000, mostly young people, and described calls for better access to education and housing, climate protection and affordability. Its initial report said organizers had reported tens of thousands and that official figures were unavailable; the reports did not reconcile the estimates.
Housing was a prominent demand in Portugal, where the Associated Press reported that thousands marched in Lisbon and a few hundred later camped in a central square. For a march in Rome on Oct. 30, Le Monde reported that the organizing union estimated attendance at nearly 100,000. Students joined workers and other groups amid concerns including living costs, fuel and housing.
In France, high school protests that began in mid-September centered on school resources, facilities and the university admissions system, AFP reported. AFP compared the protests with Yellow Vest demonstrations in 2018-19, which also centered on the cost of living.
Belgian sociologist Geoffrey Pleyers told AFP that many young people face precarious work and that those from less secure family backgrounds have a harder path. Political scientist Máriam Martínez-Bascuñán told AFP, “Discontent is fuelled more by uncertainty than by poverty.”
EconoTimes previously covered young Europeans connecting school conditions with living costs.
France’s CGT union says it will join other unions in nationwide strikes and demonstrations Thursday, Nov. 5. Its demands include higher wages and changes to state and social security budgets.
