Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across 50 cities in Spain on 3 October, demonstrating against the housing crisis. Protesters in Madrid marched specifically to advocate for housing rights and an end to evictions.
The demonstration in Madrid was prompted by an 87-year-old woman who faced eviction after an investment fund increased her rent by 230%. Furthermore, reports indicate that rents across Spain increased by 80% over the last decade.
In France, protests spanned long hours, focusing on issues such as missing teachers, deteriorating classrooms, and an unclear university admissions process. These French demonstrations began in the northern Paris suburbs before spreading across the nation.
Student actions in France resulted in the closure of up to 500 secondary schools on Monday. Political fallout followed these unrests, as Pedro Sánchez, Spain’s socialist prime minister, called for a snap general election.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, representing the radical left in France, openly supported the street protests. Leftwing Spanish parties, Podemos and Sumar, attributed the housing crisis to unchecked financial capitalism.
Meanwhile, Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) in France used footage of burning barricades to accuse centrist leaders of permitting “unbridled violence”. Vox, the far-right party in Spain, joined the main conservative opposition, Partido Popular, in efforts to derail Sánchez’s emergency package.
Sébastien Lecornu, the centrist prime minister, urged local authorities to prioritise filling long-term teacher absences and arranged urgent meetings to discuss repairing dilapidated school buildings. Nando de Anguulo stated, “it is us, the people, who have to adapt to the political parties – and not the politicians who have to adapt to what the people want. It can’t go on like that.”
