‘Generational rage’ drives young Europeans to fight to be heard
Rome (AFP) – From blockaded schools in Rome to tent camps in Madrid and street protests in France, young people across Europe are turning their anger on a political class they say is not listening.
Issued on: 23/10/2026 - RFI
Their demands vary, but they are united in wanting to make their often marginalised voices heard, sometimes even with radical methods in the face of heavy-handed policing.
"We are fighting and taking our future in our hands," said Damiano Fusa, 18, a student at Rome's Cavour high school, the first to be occupied in a wave of student takeovers that has spread across the Italian capital.
"We're not represented by anyone," Fusa told AFP, criticising both Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's hard-right coalition and previous centre-left governments for cutting education funding and ignoring young people's needs.
Students are demanding action on soaring rents, more spending on education instead of defence and more job opportunities for young people © Piero CRUCIATTI / AFP
Hundreds of thousands of high school and university students have rallied in France, Italy, Spain and other European countries in recent weeks, with some protests descending into violence.
Governments have largely focused on restoring order, with France imposing partial curfews and Italy deploying soldiers, responses protesters say obscure their demands and could make things even worse.
"Politicians are responding in ways that are completely disconnected from reality, completely absurd," said Luis Marques, a 19-year-old psychology student in Lisbon.
Students are demanding action on soaring rents, more spending on education instead of defence and more job opportunities for young people.
But experts say the unrest reflects a broader sense among many young Europeans that they have been shut out of politics and sidelined.
"These young people do not just feel like they do not have a place in politics, they feel they are not being heard at all," said Geoffrey Pleyers, president of the International Sociological Association.
Rosario Forlenza, a professor at Rome's Luiss University, called it a "European generational revolt" rooted in a social and economic crisis "to which politicians cannot give a substantive response".
"Young people are a minority of the population that is shrinking and so their social, economic, cultural, political and electoral weight is becoming ever more irrelevant," he said.
'Inspiring other people'
The anger has been particularly palpable in France and Italy, where fresh demonstrations are planned for Saturday.
"People are very angry, they've had enough. Working hard all day and still not being able to fill up their shopping cart," a 20-year-old student who gave his name as Eddy told AFP at a protest in Bordeaux last weekend.
"Will smashing everything change anything? I think it can be a jolt to wake up the politicians. We don't know what else to do to make ourselves heard. The ballot box? We don't believe in it anymore," he said.
Protest movements across Europe are increasingly drawing inspiration from one another, and even looking to youth-led movements further afield in places like Bangladesh, India and Nepal.
In Italy, one student slogan last week urged protesters to "do as in France", while shared symbols, including the Jolly Roger pirate flag, have become common across youth rallies.
Marcos Navarro, 22, a laboratory quality-control technician from Madrid, said protesters across Europe were meeting to share tactics.
"They've come to ask us: 'How did you do it? How do you organise yourselves?' We've already exchanged ideas," said Navarro, who has been camping with hundreds of others in Madrid's central Puerta del Sol square since September to protest housing costs and evictions.
Ayla Herrero, a 26-year-old anthropologist helping at the camp's infirmary, said it was "inspiring for us to know that we're inspiring other people, that it doesn't just stay here".
'Not acceptable'
Concern about the rise in military spending in Europe following the Russian invasion of Ukraine has also been a rallying point.
Nikos Mavroudis, a 17-year-old high school student in Athens' Exarchia neighbourhood, said the money could be better spent on his school, where chunks of plaster are falling.
"It's not acceptable for classrooms to be dangerous," said Mavroudis, who hopes to become a cook and plans to move elsewhere in Europe to "countries where things are better".
At Rome's occupied Morgagni high school, where students have barricaded entrances with desks, protesters pointed to the crumbling infrastructure as evidence of neglect.
An 18-year-old, who did not want to be named, said the media and politicians in Italy were focusing too heavily on looting and vandalism by some protesters.
"It turns hatred against the students who are victims of this system," he said.
Asked about the violence, Sabrina Brizzola, 24, coordinator of the Italian University Students' Union, said organisations like hers should "organise and channel this generational rage".
"We have shared concerns, even if our ways of protesting differ," she said.
Protests sweep across Europe from France to Albania, Italy, Spain and Portugal.
Violence in earlier protests prompted authorities to take additional security measures, with massive deployments of police and even soldiers observed across several European capitals.
Protests over a range of issues have taken place in cities across Europe, from Milan and Madrid to Lisbon and Tirana. Demonstrators are taking to the streets over pensions, housing, education, corruption and opposition to war, reflecting a diverse mix of grievances across the continent.
Despite precautions, bans and heavy policing the protests led to violent clashes in several cities in France - around 2,400 people have been arrested, while nearly 1000 members of the security forces were injured, as well 100 protesters and residents in Paris alone.
Protesters attend a demonstration against rising living costs in Strasbourg, France, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026 Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserve
A protester holds a French flag during a demonstration against rising living costs in Lyon, France, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Albania sees clashes between police and students, artists and opposition parties
Thousands of people rallied for a fresh anti-government protest in the Albanian capital Tirana on Saturday, with police firing tear gas to disperse the crowd. In the latest of several clashes between police and protesters since mid-October, government buildings were attacked and dozens of demonstrators were detained. Authorities said that more than 300 protestors and police have been injured.
Riot police stand in formation behind a burning garbage can during an anti-government rally, in Tirana, Albania, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Hameraldi Agolli) Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Riot police advance during an anti-government rally in Tirana, Albania, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Hameraldi Agolli) Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Clashes erupted between protesters and police across several Italian cities
Thousands took to the streets in Milan, Rome, Turin, Naples, Bologna and Florence with protester throwing bottles, stones and firecrackers.
Italian anti-riot police watch antiwar activists demonstrating against rearmament and Italy's involvement in wars in Rome, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Italian police said in a statement they had carried out nine arrests and briefly detained 371 people during protests in eight cities on Saturday. Of the people who were detained and taken to police stations, 110 were minors, the statement added.
In Spain and Portugal, protesters marched for retirement rights and affordable housing
In Madrid the protesters' key demands include linking pension increases to actual inflation, raising the minimum pension to match the minimum wage, closing the gender pension gap and protecting the public pension system from privatisation.
In Portugal affordable housing is the main demand
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