Protests over the cost of living, pensions, housing, education, corruption and opposition to war swept across France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Albania on Saturday, with clashes between demonstrators and police in several cities and security stepped up in European capitals.

In France, nearly 1,000 people were arrested during Saturday's protests, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said, adding that he believed the figure would rise significantly. The French government put the nationwide turnout at 410,000, while organisers put it at nearly 800,000. In Paris, police said the demonstration along the Cours de Vincennes was completely dispersed after projectiles were thrown, with water cannon and tear gas used and a gendarmerie helicopter deployed to locate remaining groups.

Housing and pensions drive the southern protests

In Spain, around 25,000 people gathered in Madrid to demand stronger pension protections, including increases linked to inflation. Housing was the central grievance in Portugal, where police dismantled a protest camp in Lisbon's Rossio Square early on Sunday and made several arrests, as demonstrators opposed legislation that would ease evictions and remove rent caps on new leases. Spain faces a general election on 29 November, called after Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's government failed to secure parliamentary support for urgent housing legislation.

In Italy, thousands demonstrated in Milan, Rome, Turin, Naples, Bologna and Florence over living costs and public services, with clashes and arrests in some cities. In Albania, unrest in Tirana that began in May over a luxury hotel project has escalated since mid-October, with more than 300 protesters and police reported injured in frequent clashes involving tear gas and rubber bullets.

Source: LatestLY / ANI, 25 October 2026; Times Now World, 25 October 2026.