Protests in France began as student demonstrations over school conditions but have grown into a wider movement over the cost of living. France's monetary poverty rate reached 15.4% in 2024, its highest since 1996, affecting around 9.8 million people, with the threshold at €1,337 a month for a single person. Energy prices rose more than 60% between 2015 and the first half of 2026, with electricity up 43%, and fuel prices rising a further 30% from the end of 2025 to April 2026 as the war in Iran and the Strait of Hormuz crisis sent costs soaring. According to Eurostat, 28.8% of people in France could not afford an unexpected expense without borrowing in 2025, and 41.1% lived in households with at least some difficulty making ends meet.
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Original headline: France Cost - of - Living Protests : 4 Numbers That Help Explain the Anger
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Related news
- Protests spread across Europe : Cost - of - living pressures behind the demonstrations
Thousands of people across Europe protested over the weekend against rising living costs, unaffordable housing, low wages and strained public services. In France, hundreds of thousands joined demonstrations, but some turned into looting and rioting that damaged about 1,500 shops, with the Retail and Trade Federation estimating costs of “several hundreds of millions of euros” and President Emmanuel Macron vowing to hold those responsible to account. Police clashed with demonstrators in Belgium, while Italy saw clashes in Milan, Turin and Bologna, and Portugal’s unions called for higher wages, better pensions and affordable housing. Eurostat data analysed by Euronews Business shows EU food prices rose 34% between August 2021 and August 2026, and the food a minimum wage could buy fell 6% in Malta, 5% in Spain and 4% in France. The comparison excludes taxes, rent and other household costs.
- World Insights : Cost - of - living anger fuels protests across Europe amid deepening social - economic strains - Xinhua
Tens of thousands of people across major European cities protested over the weekend against rising living costs, housing shortages and strained public services. In France, about 550,000 people joined nationwide demonstrations on Saturday that turned violent, with 997 police officers and gendarmes injured, seven of them seriously, and 2,397 people arrested. Clashes also broke out in Milan and Brussels, with about 50 demonstrators detained in Milan, while tens of thousands rallied in Portugal demanding affordable housing. European leaders condemned the violence, and a Eurofound senior research manager said the benefits of macroeconomic stability are failing to reach the bottom half of the income distribution.
- World Insights : Cost - of - living anger fuels protests across Europe amid deepening social - economic strains - Xinhua
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across several European cities over the weekend to protest rising living costs, housing shortages and strained public services. In France, some 550,000 people joined nationwide demonstrations on Saturday, which quickly turned violent, leaving 997 police officers and gendarmes injured, seven seriously, and 2,397 people arrested nationwide. In Milan, Italy, protesters threw firecrackers and bottles at police, injuring at least four officers and 20 demonstrators, with about 50 detained. Clashes also broke out in Brussels, and tens of thousands marched in Portuguese cities demanding affordable housing. Analysts warn that failing to address these hardships risks further eroding public trust and deepening social divisions.
- Four EU countries rocked by unrest
Hundreds of thousands of people protested across Belgium, France, Italy and Portugal on October 17-18 over rising living costs. In France, the Interior Ministry counted over 550,000 participants, and the marches turned violent, with looting in several cities, a fire that nearly destroyed the 140-year-old Limoges city hall, and 1,200 arrests and 150 injured police, according to Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu. Police used tear gas and water cannon in Brussels and Liège, while tens of thousands marched in Lisbon over housing costs and low wages. In Milan, clashes left at least 2 officers injured and about 50 people arrested, many of them minors, and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the violence. Alberto Alemanno of HEC Paris said discontent is spreading, with early signs of protests in Greece, Germany and Austria expected next week, as Europe prepares for a major run of national elections in the next 12 months.
- French town hall that survived both world wars is incinerated after standing for 143 years as bloody riots spread across Europe
Violent protests against the cost of living, education standards and Emmanuel Macron's government spread across France and Europe on Saturday, with a video showing a shopkeeper pleading with looters in vain. In France, more than 1,200 people were arrested as roughly 550,000 people took to the streets, and the historic Limoges Town Hall, built in 1883 and having survived both world wars, was torched and collapsed. Copycat protests in Italy saw clashes with police in Milan, tear gas near the Duomo, shuttered shops and several injuries and arrests, while several hundred students protested in Brussels over rising education costs. In France, protesters hurled baguettes at riot police in Paris, a Lyon tourist office and cars were set on fire, and looters stormed the Galeries Lafayette in Bordeaux. Sixty officers were injured, and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said the authorities would not be intimidated and that those responsible should pay for the damage.
- France is on fire but something more dangerous burns below the unrest
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