Student-Led Protests Spread Across Europe Over Education Funding

Student-led protests are spreading across Europe, with demonstrators in Italy, France, Belgium, Spain, and Albania demanding better education funding and conditions. The movement, inspired by French student actions, has led to school occupations, strikes, and clashes with police. In Italy, students in Turin, Rome, Naples, and Genoa have occupied schools and halted classes, chanting "Money for schools, not for war." They cite French students as proof that collective struggle can force action from politicians. In France, weeks of protests have continued, with a 15-year-old boy losing his hand to a police grenade in Lens, prompting the education minister to promise 3,000 extra teachers, which protesters deem insufficient. The unrest has merged with other movements, including planned Yellow Vest protests in France. Belgium has seen teacher and student demonstrations, with businesses removing e-scooters from Brussels streets after vandalism. Spain faces an indefinite teacher strike, while Albania's Tirana has experienced violent clashes over university conditions and corruption, with protesters calling for systemic change.