Thousands of people gathered for a new anti-government demonstration in Tirana after several days of violent unrest.
For some time, students and other groups have been protesting against poor conditions and corruption, while repeating demands, made for several months, for Prime Minister Edi Rama to resign.
“There is great anger,” says activist Sidorela Vatnikaj, who calls the movement a “revolution.”
Stones were soon thrown at the Ministry of Education. Many of the building’s windows had already been broken in previous days.
Police immediately responded with water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets.
Government buildings were also set on fire.
Unrest is also brewing elsewhere, in addition to France.
Spain and Italy
A demonstration took place in the Spanish capital, Madrid, amid a political battle over the Spanish pension system, with Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez accusing the right of plotting to weaken inflation-adjusted increases.
The participants, numbering around 25,000 according to the authorities, marched peacefully through the city. Several carried placards reading: “Protect and guarantee our pensions.”
Large protests against the high cost of living have also begun in Italy. There is a heavy police presence in Rome and Milan.
Thousands of police officers and soldiers will patrol the streets of Rome and Milan on Saturday. Drones will reinforce street surveillance, monitoring signs of discontent from above.
In Rome, around 3,000 people took to the streets, some of them gathering at the classical amphitheatre, the Colosseum.
War-like scenes
In Milan, where about the same number of people took part, public broadcaster Rai reported boarded-up shop windows and the “highest state of alert” after last week’s war-like scenes.
Demonstrators then clashed with police, luxury stores were looted and fires were started. Police responded with tear gas and water cannons, and made arrests.
New protests, marches and strikes were also held on Saturday in Bologna, Genoa, Turin and Florence, among other places.
Shortly after 9 p.m., Italian police said nine people had been arrested in connection with the demonstrations and 371 had been temporarily detained. Of these, 110 were under the age of 18.
In Portugal’s capital, Lisbon, protesters demanded lower rents and housing costs in general.
Corrected: A previous version contained incorrect information about the number of protesters in Madrid.
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