Young people in at least eight European countries have taken to the streets in recent days, protesting against high rents, poor educational conditions, and corruption. Students in Spain and Portugal have pitched tents in their capitals to protest high rents, while French and Italian students have marched en masse for better school conditions. In Albania, students have clashed with police.
These protests are increasingly organised through social media, posing a challenge for governments seeking to manage or control the movements. The demonstrations have seen arrests, looting, injuries, and violence in France, Italy, and Albania over the past week.
In Albania, cybersecurity advocate Besmir Semanaj noted that young Albanians are organising movements through their mobile phones rather than traditional structures such as political parties, associations, or public appeals. They communicate using platforms like Instagram, WhatsApp groups, Telegram channels, and TikTok.
Semanaj highlighted Telegram channels as particularly effective, enabling messages to reach tens of thousands of people simultaneously and making external control more difficult. This has fostered a ‘horizontal organisational structure’ for the movements, lacking individual leaders or a central command.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has described the youth uprising as a ‘hybrid war,’ accusing protesters of attempting to improve Albania through TikTok without being able to articulate coherent arguments. He has also claimed that protesters are ‘hostages to a new ideology’ and influenced by a ‘dark force’ aiming to ‘destroy everything.’
Rama previously alleged that governments including Greece, Russia, and Iran were inciting dissent. More recently, he claimed that ‘Antifa,’ a decentralised anti-fascist movement, was fuelling anti-government sentiment in Albania. However, security affairs researcher Redion Qirjazi stated that there is no verifiable evidence to support the existence of an organised Antifa structure in Albania or its involvement in coordinating the protests. A protester, identified only as Sara, rejected Rama’s ‘terrorist’ label, stating her opposition to violence and her withdrawal from any violent situations.
Peaceful anti-government protests have been ongoing in Albania for nearly five months. These demonstrations began after plans were revealed for Jared Kushner, son-in-law of former US President Donald Trump, and his associates to build a luxury hotel complex within a nature reserve. Protesters also denounce corruption, mismanagement of universities, and rising education costs.
In France, high school students at Lycée Antoine-de-Saint-Exupéry in Créteil, a suburb of Paris, initiated protests on September 17, 2026, against teacher shortages and poor school conditions. In Spain, demonstrations against rising housing prices began in September 2026, sparked by the eviction of an 87-year-old woman from her home.
Amidst these widespread student movements in Europe, the continent has become an increasingly attractive destination for Nepali youth seeking foreign employment. According to data from Nepal’s Department of Foreign Employment, 53,951 Nepali workers received new labour permits for 24 European nations in the first 11 months of the 2025/2026 fiscal year. This marks a significant increase, with Nepalis migrating to Europe accounting for 14.7 percent of total foreign employment during this period, up from 8.69 percent in the previous fiscal year. Of those migrating to Europe, 23.91 percent were women.
Romania has emerged as the largest European destination for Nepali workers, with 24,767 Nepalis, including 3,144 women, migrating there. Other popular destinations include Croatia, Portugal, Slovenia, and Austria. However, Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs requested Nepali embassies in Europe in March 2023 to halt the authentication of institutional labour demand letters from several European destinations.
In September 2025, the European Union expressed deep sorrow over deaths and violence during protests in Nepal and called for an independent investigation into the killings. Embassies from Australia, Finland, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and the US in Nepal also issued a joint statement after Gen Z protests in Kathmandu and other parts of the country, reiterating support for the Nepali people’s right to peaceful protest and freedom of expression.
In Germany, student committees are rapidly organising for an international youth strike planned for November 20. In Belgium, debate is intensifying over a call for a general strike at the end of November. Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama stated on October 15, 2026, that he would not resign and has pledged to lead his country into the 27-member European Union by 2030.
