Cost of Living Anger Drives Protests Across Europe

PARIS — The unrest that swept French cities over the weekend is part of a wider wave of anger across Europe, where hundreds of thousands of people have marched against high rents, fuel and food bills and public services they say are falling apart.

France drew the biggest crowds, with more than half a million demonstrators. Most marched peacefully, but looters and vandals damaged about 1,500 shops, set the Limoges city hall on fire, torched Lyon’s tourist office on Place Bellecour, forced their way into the Marseille, Angers and Lille town halls and ransacked the prefect’s residence in Bordeaux. French retailers expect losses in the hundreds of millions of euros.

The French movement began last month with high school students complaining about run-down buildings and a shortage of teachers. It has since widened into a revolt over living standards. Unemployment rose to 8.3% in the second quarter, about 2.7 million people, and reached 21.6% for those ages 15 to 24, according to the national statistics agency Insee. Consumer prices climbed 3.1% over the year to September, with energy up 21.3%.

Elsewhere, Portuguese unions and housing groups rallied for higher wages and pensions as home prices there jumped 16.5% in a year, the fastest rise in the European Union. A march over living costs in Milan turned violent, with clashes also reported in Turin and Bologna. Police in Belgium faced crowds in Brussels and Liège, and in Albania students angry over tuition and campus conditions demanded the prime minister’s resignation, some hurling firebombs at officers. Spain has seen months of protests over evictions and soaring rents.

Fuel is a common thread, with diesel costs surging continentwide as the fighting in Ukraine and the war with Iran keep pushing prices up. Across the European Union, food and drink prices have climbed 34% since August 2021. Wages in many countries have not kept up.

The turmoil has rattled markets. French bond yields rose and the euro slipped Monday, and stock indexes in Paris and Milan fell more than 1.5%. To shrink a deficit projected at 5.4% of economic output this year, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu wants a 2027 spending plan that freezes the civil service pay index and tightens sick leave payments, all ahead of France’s presidential election next year.

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