Protests that began in France spread across Europe on Saturday 24 October 2026, with demonstrators clashing with police in Albania, Belgium and Italy, according to reports from the New York Post drawing on EuroNews and Reuters witnesses. The spread shows how quickly unrest in one country can echo in others, even when the local grievances differ.

Albania: students take to the streets

In Tirana, protesters rallied outside the Ministry of Education to demand lower tuition fees, greater state investment in education and the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama. Crowds set fire to dumpsters and couch cushions that Rama had placed as a symbolic invitation to dialogue with students, EuroNews reported. More than 2,500 police officers were deployed in the capital, turning water cannons on the crowd, and at least five people were arrested, though police said no major incidents had taken place.

Belgium and Italy: barricades and boarded shops

In Brussels, police used water cannons and tear gas to break up student-made barricades, while high-end retailers boarded up shops fearing a repeat of looting seen in France the previous week. In Italy, stores across Naples, Rome, Turin, Bologna, Florence and Milan boarded up windows in anticipation of similar trouble. Milan was on particular alert, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni deploying 500 soldiers, drone surveillance, railway station checks and rapid-response units.

What connects the protests

The protests do not share a single demand, but they share a mood: students and young people protesting over costs, education and government accountability, with authorities responding with heavy policing. That combination is volatile, and the coming days will show whether the protests fade, as some often do, or harden into a wider movement. The Daily Byte will follow confirmed developments, not speculation about what happens next. Sources: New York Post; EuroNews; Reuters witnesses.