Massive protests sweep Europe over cost of living and strained public services
Violent clashes in Italy as demonstrators protest the cost of living01:37Get more newsonShareAdd NBC News to GoogleOct. 31, 2026, 7:39 AM EDTBy Freddie ClaytonMassive protests are sweeping Europe on Saturday as part of demonstrations driven by the cost of living and deficient public services, with police bracing for potential violence after recent looting and riots.
Germany, France, Spain and Italy are among the nations facing demonstrations on Halloween following a recent wave of Gen Z-led marches across the continent.
French officials said they would deploy 70,000 police on Saturday following some of the worst rioting in decades, which erupted in cities across the country after student protests about the state of education evolved into wider demonstrations about the cost of living and social security.
A protester dressed in a unicorn costume faces police in riot gear in Cologne, Germany, on Saturday.Thilo Schmuelgen / ReutersAs the demonstrations began Saturday afternoon in Paris, protesters were pictured holding a banner that read: “We do not need tear gas for our future to be blurry.”
Videos vetted by NBC News show large crowds and fires burning in Marseille.
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While the protests have been largely peaceful, police arrested 1,300 people last week after an estimated 410,000 took to the streets in cities across the country. Stores, public buildings and businesses have also been damaged since the protests erupted last month.
“Everyone is on deck to ensure an extremely firm response to any trouble,” Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told a news conference earlier this week as he set out security arrangements, adding there was “a very high risk” of unrest.
Measures introduced last week to protect shops would be reinforced, he said, and demonstrations would not be permitted “in city centers, where there is a risk of public disorder.”
Police officers run toward protesters during a demonstration in Paris, on Saturday.Aurelien Morissard / APThe U.S. Embassy in France has advised travelers to avoid areas where demonstrations or large gatherings are planned.
The protests in France began after Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron launched budget talks for 2027. Students in the country angry over a declining education system and the high cost of living, then took to the streets.
France has been rocked by protests in cities across the country, some of which have turned violent. Kenzo Tribouillard; Kiran Ridley; Olivier Chassignole / GettyThey were later joined by unions and the Yellow Vests, a grassroots movement that emerged in 2018 as a revolt against fuel taxes.
Those demonstrations appear to have inspired similar protests across the continent, with protests erupting in Belgium, Spain, Italy and elsewhere.
People protest at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, on Saturday.Volodymyr Sindieiev / Anadolu / GettyMore than 160,000 people in Germany are expected to join demonstrations organized by the campaign group Gen Z regelt (Gen Z takes charge) in 34 cities on Saturday, including the capital Berlin and the financial hub Frankfurt.
The groups demand spending on schools, climate protection and housing, and are against plans to return to mandatory military service.
“We all have those images from France in our minds — looting, burning houses, burning police vehicles, and attacks on police officers,” said Roman Poseck, interior minister for the state of Hesse, whose capital is Frankfurt.
Protesters gathered in front of Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, as police said an additional 1,500 officers would be deployed throughout the city.
Elsewhere in Europe, a huge encampment of tents has occupied a square in Madrid since late last month, and thousands of people in Portugal have taken to the streets in the city of Lisbon. Tear gas and water cannons were also used on black-clad protesters in Brussels.
In the United Kingdom, hundreds of demonstrators are expected to gather outside the U.S. Embassy in London on Saturday and risk arrest in support of Palestine Action, a protest group banned by the British government.
In Serbia, student-led activism also helped unseat the country’s long-time leader at the ballot box.
Demonstrators gather at the Piazza della Repubblica in Rome on Friday.Sara Monetta / NBC NewsIn Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government also said it would deploy 500 army troops alongside the police in Milan until the end of the year after groups of masked protesters looted stores in the fashion capital and elsewhere and threw projectiles at police earlier this month.
Tens of thousands of people again took to the streets of Rome on Friday and other cities and towns across the country.
The demonstrations were largely peaceful, but an NBC News crew saw police use a water cannon on protesters and groups of police charging to disperse protesters.
Italian police were out in force with riot brigades, drones and helicopters visible in the skies above the capital.
“We have been completely screwed by the fact that the wages do not keep up on inflation and the wages in general do not keep up with the cost of living,” said Luca, a 20-year-old medical student who asked to have his last name withheld out of fear of repercussions from law enforcement.
Freddie ClaytonFreddie Clayton is a freelance journalist based in London.
