Demonstrations over living costs, housing, education and alleged corruption have triggered clashes with police in several countries across Europe, putting governments under mounting pressure.

Protests and violent clashes have spread this month, with demonstrations in France, Belgium, Italy, Portugal and Albania exposing growing public frustration over economic pressures, education and government accountability.

Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in separate demonstrations over the weekend, with some rallies escalating into looting, arson and confrontations with security forces.

In Albania, Prime Minister Edi Rama accused unnamed foreign forces of fuelling the unrest, describing the violence as the work of an “outside hand” seeking to destabilise the country and undermine its ambitions to join the European Union.

The accusation comes as thousands of demonstrators in the capital, Tirana, demand Rama’s resignation, while protests have also spread to other Albanian cities.

Albania protests escalate

Albania has experienced several days of increasingly violent anti-government demonstrations, with students joining a broader movement against Rama’s government.

Protesters have raised concerns about alleged corruption, university conditions, education costs and unemployment. Opposition to a controversial luxury tourism development along Albania’s southern coastline has also contributed to the wider discontent. The project has been linked to Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump.

Clashes in Tirana have seen demonstrators throw stones, fireworks and petrol bombs at police, while government buildings and other property have been damaged by fires and vandalism.

Police have responded with tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets. Authorities have also reported numerous detentions and injuries among protesters and officers.

Rama has rejected calls to resign, arguing that the violence threatens Albania’s European integration ambitions. He has said the government is prepared to address legitimate student concerns but will not yield to demands made through violence.

His claims of foreign interference have not however been independently established.

France sees widespread unrest

France experienced some of the largest demonstrations, with more than 550,000 people taking part in rallies over the weekend.

What began as demonstrations involving students broadened into protests over the cost of living and wider social grievances. Violence erupted in several cities on Saturday, with masked groups targeting shops, supermarkets and public buildings.

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said more than 1,200 people had been arrested and 150 police officers injured. In Limoges, a fire largely destroyed the historic town hall, while other municipal buildings and businesses were vandalised or looted.

President Emmanuel Macron vowed that those responsible for the violence would face prosecution.

Clashes in Belgium and Italy

In Brussels, Belgian police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse demonstrators after accusing some protesters of throwing objects at officers and starting fires. Similar tactics were used in Liège.

The unrest followed weeks of student protests over university registration fees and reflected wider concerns about the affordability of education and everyday expenses.

In Milan, Italy, a march against war and rising living costs descended into clashes as masked protesters threw stones and paving blocks at riot police, looted shops and set fire to barricades.

Police used tear gas and water cannons to clear crowds from the city centre. At least two officers were injured and about 50 demonstrators were detained, according to Italian news agency LaPresse.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the violence, while Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said protesters’ concerns were understandable but that attacks on police and damage to public property were unacceptable.

Clashes were also reported in Bologna.

Housing and wages drive protests in Portugal

In Lisbon, tens of thousands of people marched on Saturday against rising living costs, low wages and the difficulty of finding affordable housing.

House prices in Portugal have more than doubled since 2017, while rents for new leases have risen sharply, intensifying pressure on households in major cities.

Demonstrators called for higher wages and pensions and action to address housing and fuel costs. Some erected tents in central Lisbon to highlight the housing crisis.

The Portuguese government has faced criticism from protesters who accuse political leaders of being disconnected from the financial pressures experienced by ordinary citizens.

Spain housing protests turn violent

Spain also faced its own protests earlier this month when violence erupted during housing protests in Spain on October 3, with clashes reported in Valencia and Barcelona.

Demonstrators protested soaring rents, evictions and the growing difficulty of accessing affordable housing.

Police made arrests as unrest escalated, with officers injured during confrontations. The demonstrations reflect mounting public anger over Spain’s housing crisis and growing pressure on Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s government to introduce lasting solutions.

Wider warning for European governments

Although the demonstrations are believed to not be part of a single coordinated movement, analysts say they reflect overlapping concerns about living standards, education, housing and the prospects facing younger generations.

Alberto Alemanno, a professor of European Union law and policy at HEC Paris Business School, told Al Jazeera however that France appeared to be at the centre of a wider wave of unrest, with signs of mobilisation emerging elsewhere in Europe.

He suggested that further demonstrations could take place in the coming weeks, including in Germany, Greece and Austria.

Reinout Van Zandycke, a communications expert in Belgium, warned last week that foreign interference could be involved in TikTok calls encouraging people to protest in France and Belgium on October 17. His concern focused on the online mobilisation and the possibility of manipulation, rather than proof that the protests were centrally organised.

The unrest presents a challenge for governments already facing public pressure over economic conditions and political accountability. In Albania, the dispute has also become entangled with the country’s ambition to join the European Union.

Whether the demonstrations lead to policy changes or further confrontation remains uncertain. However, the spread of unrest underlines the pressure facing European governments as protesters demand action on living costs, education, housing and corruption.

US President Donald Trump on Sunday endorsed his ally Benjamin Netanyahu ​as the longtime Israeli prime minister struggles for an edge in next week’s parliamentary election.

Trump praised Netanyahu as a “great warrior prime minister” and peace ‌partner, crediting him with joining the United States in launching strikes on Iran in February. The conflict, in its seventh month, has disrupted energy markets globally and wreaked havoc across the Middle East, damaging critical infrastructure and destabilizing regional economies, Reuters reported.

“Bibi Netanyahu has been Strong, Brave, and Brilliant in the face of tremendous opposition, including that coming from even Israel, itself,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth ​Social.

“Despite all of that, he has endured and, in fact, he has thrived! I have watched Bibi under the most trying of times. Normal men ​or women in such situations would have wilted under the pressure — But Bibi did not wilt, he actually got stronger, and maintains ⁠that same Strength today.”

In his message, addressed to “the Great People of Israel,” Trump added, “Please let this Letter serve to represent my Complete and Total Endorsement of Bibi Netanyahu ​in his upcoming Race for Re-Election as Prime Minister of Israel.”

The Trump endorsement is not certain to give Netanyahu and his right-wing Likud party a boost in the October ​27 national election, as Israeli public support for Trump has diminished amid Israeli-US disagreements over Iran.

Polls have suggested no candidate has a clear path to power. Israel’s prime minister is chosen through coalition-building in parliament rather than by direct popular vote.

It will be Israel’s first vote since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, that shook the country and plunged the Middle East into turmoil, as Israel went ​to war in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

The election could determine whether Netanyahu remains in power after one of the most consequential periods in Israel’s history, or is defeated ​by centrist rivals promising to usher in a new era.

Netanyahu promptly expressed his thanks to his “dear friend Donald” on X, saying, “Together we will complete the mission!”

Most Israelis, even those who are critical of Netanyahu and his government, were largely in favor of the Iran war.

In an election ​this close, “it couldn’t hurt him, and it might help,” said analyst Aaron David Miller of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace ​in Washington.

Netanyahu’s religious-nationalist coalition ⁠is projected to lose its governing majority, although the opposition may also struggle to form a government, opinion polls show. That could lead to Netanyahu serving as a caretaker prime minister while another election is held.

The US president passed up earlier opportunities to endorse Netanyahu, perhaps because he wanted to see what leverage he could exercise on issues like Gaza or Lebanon, said ⁠Miller. In the end, ​he said, Trump sided with a leader he sees as strong and unfairly persecuted.

“However angry Trump may ​be at Netanyahu for pushing this Iran war, this in the end was a Trump decision,” Miller added.

A Trump decision not to endorse Netanyahu would have raised “legitimate questions about whether or not the whole Iran venture was ​in fact something Trump should have done,” he said.

France was left reeling after Saturday’s demonstrations over the rising cost of living erupted into widespread violence, with clashes between police and protesters, looting and fires reported across the country.

Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said 1,200 people had been arrested and 150 police officers injured in what he described as violence of “extreme intensity”.

“It’s a miracle the toll isn’t higher,” Lecornu said.

Authorities estimated that 550,000 people joined the nationwide demonstrations, while the CGT trade union put the figure at 800,000.

The unrest follows weeks of student protests and comes ahead of presidential elections scheduled for April and May.

Police deployed tear gas and water cannons as some demonstrators threw projectiles and fireworks. In the southern city of Saint-Étienne, a 17-year-old boy lost his right hand when a crowd-control grenade exploded.

Widespread looting and destruction

Masked youths targeted businesses in Paris, Marseille, Nice, Nantes, Bordeaux, Limoges, Lille, Toulouse and Strasbourg, looting supermarkets, pharmacies, luxury boutiques and electronics stores.

AFP reporters in Paris witnessed groups disabling security cameras before smashing shop windows and stealing goods.

Public buildings were also attacked. The historic town hall in Limoges, more than 140 years old, was largely destroyed by fire after masked protesters broke in. Town halls in Marseille and Lille were vandalised, while a police compound in Bordeaux was damaged and a tourist office in Lyon set alight.

President Emmanuel Macron condemned the violence, saying those responsible for vandalism, attacks on public buildings and looting would be prosecuted.

US Vice President JD Vance blamed immigration for the unrest, claiming on X that Western countries had neglected questions of integration in the name of diversity and compassion.

Cost of living fuels anger

The demonstrations were called by France’s Yellow Vest movement, which staged major protests eight years ago over planned fuel tax increases.

Rising living costs, exacerbated by inflation linked partly to the war in the Middle East, were a central grievance. Protesters also expressed anger over political leadership and wealth inequality.

“We’re sick of slaving away for poverty wages while our rents keep going up,” teacher Regine Monfroid told AFP in Strasbourg.

In Paris, demonstrators called for Macron to resign, while some invoked the French Revolution of 1789. In Marseille, protesters shouted that they were “taking the Bastille” as they forced their way into the mayor’s offices.

Political tensions intensify

The unrest has heightened political tensions ahead of the presidential election, with opposition figures seeking to capitalise on public frustration.

Far-right candidate Marine Le Pen condemned the rioters and accused the party of left-wing rival Jean-Luc Mélenchon of legitimising violence. She vowed to protect the public from what she described as violence from the extreme left.

Mélenchon, who had supported the demonstrations and earlier student protests, urged participants to avoid looting, describing it as contrary to the movement’s methods.

The scale of the destruction and arrests has raised fresh questions about public order as France approaches a pivotal electoral period.