Protests that started in France over teacher shortages, deteriorating schools, inequality, rising living costs and cuts to public services have spread to Belgium, Italy, Portugal and Albania.
In France, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets over the weekend before demonstrations turned into clashes with police, arson and looting. Nearly 2,400 people were arrested, about 1,000 officers were injured, and hundreds of businesses were looted and buildings set on fire. Damage was put at hundreds of millions of euros. French authorities have mainly blamed radical far-left groups and opportunistic criminals, and have not tied the organisation of the violence to immigrants.
Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto suggested the riots formed part of a hybrid war waged through social media by an actor he did not identify. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama went further and accused Russian and Iranian intelligence services. According to Euronews, the European Commission has declined to open an investigation, citing insufficient evidence. French President Emmanuel Macron also said there was no evidence of foreign interference in the unrest itself, while accusing outside actors of manipulating information about the events.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu has ordered curfews ahead of further protests in France and banned gatherings near the Louvre and the Champs-Elysees for three days. France also plans to deploy 1,000 counterterrorism troops to reinforce police on Saturday, 24 October.