OMM Newsroom
AnewZ’s daily roundup on November 2 featured five developments involving ongoing protests across Europe and Asia. Demonstrators are demanding action on living costs, political accountability and democratic rights.
Protests in Germany and India
Ministers have vowed a tough response following riots in Frankfurt, Germany. More than 100 police officers were injured in clashes after nationwide demonstrations organized by the youth-led “Gen Z regelt” movement.
On Saturday, October 31, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in more than 30 German cities, calling for better education, stronger social policies and measures to curb rising living costs. Most demonstrations were peaceful, but violence broke out in Frankfurt, Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne in the evening.
In India, thousands of protesters gathered in New Delhi on Sunday, November 1, demanding the resignation of the country’s chief election commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar. They opposed disputed changes to voter lists.
At the demonstration led by opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, the government was accused of undermining democratic rights by removing more than 130 million names during revisions to voter lists. Opposition parties say minority communities have been disproportionately affected and that the changes could benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.
The Election Commission rejected allegations of political bias. It said the verification process removes duplicate and invalid registrations, while eligible voters can apply to be added back to the lists.
Demonstrations in France, Portugal and Albania
A nighttime curfew was imposed in parts of central Paris over the weekend amid nationwide demonstrations concerning living costs, fuel prices and education. The restrictions covered the République and Châtelet–Les Halles districts from Saturday night to Sunday morning.
Most marches were peaceful, but police clashed with small groups after demonstrations in Paris, Lyon and Toulouse. France’s Interior Ministry estimated that 320,000 people took part in protests nationwide, including 70,000 in Paris. The previous weekend, the nationwide turnout was 410,000.
Pressure is mounting on President Emmanuel Macron’s government as France faces weak economic growth and strained public finances.
In Portugal, police cleared a protest camp in Lisbon’s Rossio Square early Sunday, following demonstrations by thousands of people against proposed changes to the country’s rental laws.
After a march on Saturday, protesters set up more than 50 tents and urged the government to withdraw a bill they said would make evictions easier and remove rent limits for new contracts. Police used shields and, in some cases, batons to remove hundreds of protesters. Officers also cleared a smaller camp in Porto.
Housing affordability remains a serious problem in Portugal. Home prices have more than doubled since 2017, while rents for new contracts have nearly doubled.
In Tirana, Albania’s capital, thousands of protesters called for Prime Minister Edi Rama to resign on Saturday, October 31. They protested over corruption allegations, unemployment and poor education standards.
Police used water cannon, while protesters threw Molotov cocktails and paving stones near government buildings. Tensions escalated in the area.
The demonstrations came after several weeks of student-led protests and amid growing discontent with Rama’s government, which has been in power since 2013. Opposition lawmakers also disrupted a parliamentary session on Thursday, October 29, setting off flares and blocking access to the speaker’s rostrum.
