Europe's protest wave: 6 fault lines fueling unrest

Thousands of people across Europe have staged protests against their governments over issues including the cost of living, unemployment, and housing, with some demonstrations in France turning violent and prompting crackdowns. Young people have been prominent in protests in Spain, France, Belgium, and Albania, with French high schoolers clashing with police over teacher shortages and poor school conditions, while students in Vienna demonstrated against education budget cuts. Housing protests in Spain followed the eviction of an 87-year-old pensioner, and Portuguese housing prices more than doubled between 2015 and 2024. Common fault lines driving the unrest include persistent affordability problems despite slowing inflation, underfunded education systems, energy price pressures linked to geopolitical conflicts, immigration debates, and concerns about foreign disinformation, with French officials citing hostile narratives from Russia, China, Iran, and the Maga community.