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A wave of protests driven by Generation Z has swept through France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Albania, Greece and Serbia in recent weeks, with demonstrators highlighting grievances ranging from crumbling school infrastructure to soaring rents and stagnant wages. Reuters reported that the actions, which in some cases helped influence political change such as in Serbia where student-led demonstrations contributed to the toppling of a long-time leader, reflect a shared sense among young Europeans that systemic barriers are denying them stable futures. According to multiple outlets including Al Jazeera and The Guardian, the unrest has drawn hundreds of thousands onto the streets at peaks, with participants demanding governments address the erosion of public services and economic opportunities that previous generations took for granted.
In France, where the current surge began in late September over teacher shortages and dilapidated school buildings, demonstrations have expanded to include demands for higher wages and better pensions, at times drawing in Yellow Vest activists and trade unions. EL PAÍS English reported that one rally brought as many as 266,000 people onto the streets in a single day, while similar education-focused actions have spread to Italy with students occupying schools in Rome, Milan and Turin to protest insufficient teachers and structures needing urgent repairs. The European Students’ Union recorded 54 protest actions across 22 countries between March and May this year, up from 31 in 13 countries during the prior period, underscoring the growing mobilization.
Housing affordability has emerged as a central flashpoint in Spain and Portugal, where tent encampments have occupied central squares in Madrid since late September and similar actions have taken place in Lisbon following Instagram campaigns declaring enough is enough. Eurostat data places the share of young Europeans aged 15 to 29 at risk of poverty or social exclusion at 24.2 percent in 2025, compared with 20.9 percent for the overall population, a gap that has widened amid house prices rising 55.4 percent and rents climbing 26.7 percent across the EU since 2010. In an interview with Reuters, Carolina Cruz, a 26-year-old PhD student in Lisbon facing the expiration of her rental contract, said she still cannot make ends meet despite being the first in her family to pursue doctoral studies.
Broader economic indicators compound the discontent, with EU youth unemployment standing at 15.4 percent in August 2026 against 6.1 percent for the total population, according to EL PAÍS English. A 2025 European Union survey found rising prices and the cost of living to be concerns for 40 percent of those aged 16 to 30, while Eurofound analysis shows that in several member states more than 80 percent of the median wage would be required to rent a standard two-room apartment in many urban areas. Experts cited by The Guardian and Modern Diplomacy have pointed to demographic shifts, including a growing proportion of older voters who prioritize pensions over youth investment, as a factor in policies that have left younger cohorts shouldering disproportionate burdens.
Protesters have repeatedly voiced a sentiment captured in banners proclaiming Europe’s youth take to the streets – they feel locked out of a promising future, reflecting fears over artificial intelligence displacing jobs, climate impacts and the inability to afford independent living or family formation. In Milan, 21-year-old student Chiara told Reuters it is vital to take part in spontaneous movements born from an explosion of rage that made collective action possible, adding that the ruling class has inflicted the worst damage by stealing even the ability to imagine a future or to dream. Riccardo, a 22-year-old demonstrator in the same city, stated to AFP that even if they do not throw the country into chaos like in France or block every road like in Spain, the aim is at least for people to start talking about these issues again.
The protests have remained smaller in scale than the anti-austerity movements following the 2008 financial crisis, yet they have drawn attention ahead of major elections in France, Italy, Spain and Poland, according to Reuters and The Local. Far-right voices have sought to link some violence on the fringes to migration, but analysts quoted in The Guardian emphasize that the core demands center on affordable housing, functional public services and economic security for younger generations. Plans for further actions, including a proposed Europe-wide youth strike in November, indicate the movements could continue gaining traction as governments weigh responses between addressing underlying concerns and emphasizing law and order.
