Anti-government and cost-of-living protests spread across Italy, Spain and Albania
A wave of unrest swept through several European cities on 24 October, with violent clashes and looting reported in Italian cities, a student protest turning violent in Barcelona, and anti-government demonstrators attacking government buildings in Tirana. These protests echoed broader cost-of-living and social demonstrations that have recently affected France.
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In Italy, renewed disorder followed looting at a Carrefour supermarket in Milan the previous weekend. As a spontaneous march passed another branch of the same chain, the store closed as a precaution, trapping customers inside. A nearby bank window was vandalised with the slogan "Tax the rich". According to The Guardian, Italian police arrested nine people and briefly detained more than 370 others during clashes in cities including Bologna and Turin.
In Barcelona, dozens of young people gathered via a social media call under the banner "Institut Indignats", inspired by the French "Lycées Indignés" student movement. The gathering deteriorated into looting, burning of containers and clashes with Catalonia's Mossos d'Esquadra police in Plaça de Catalunya. Riot police intervened after protesters dressed mostly in black began damaging street furniture. Several arrests were made and nearby shops closed their shutters. Catalan president Salvador Illa stated that "violence has no place in Catalonia".
In Albania, anti-government protesters attacked government buildings in Tirana. This unrest formed part of the broader wave of demonstrations across Europe on that day, which also included gatherings in Belgium and Portugal driven by separate grievances.
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