Cost-of-living protests across Europe have spread from prices to housing, incomes, public services and economic security, even as headline inflation has eased. In Lisbon, retiree Maria Teresa Faleiro, who is 81, faces eviction after her landlords refused to renew her lease, despite never missing a payment on her 724-euro monthly rent in 22 years. In France, protests that began with students broadened into nationwide demonstrations, with violence, looting and arson in several cities, and the historic Limoges city hall was largely destroyed by fire. Eurostat data show that 26.9% of young people aged 15 to 29 in the EU lived in overcrowded households in 2025, and euro-area consumer energy inflation reached 18.9% in September 2026. High debt and tight budgets, with France's deficit expected to reach 5.1% of GDP in 2026, leave governments with limited room to respond.
Summary written by Upside AI from the original article. Read the source for full details.
Read the original on newzealandstar.com ↗
Keywords
cost of livingEuropeprotestshousing
Open a keyword to see other news on the same topic.
Related tickers and likely impact
EUR/USD
▼ Likely negativeRelevance: low
| Market | Currencies |
|---|---|
| Close on 10/20/2026 | 1.12376 |
| Change that session | +0.22% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
Related news
- World Insights: Cost-of-living protests highlight mounting economic, social pressures across Europe
Protests across Europe over living costs, housing and public services show economic and social strain persisting even as inflation has eased. In Lisbon, 81-year-old retiree Maria Teresa Faleiro faces eviction after her landlords refused to renew her lease, despite never missing a payment on her 724-euro monthly rent over 22 years. In France, student protests over school conditions spread into nationwide demonstrations that turned violent in some cities, while more than 50 protests were held in Spain on Oct. 3 over rents and evictions. Eurostat data show 26.9% of young EU residents aged 15 to 29 lived in overcrowded households in 2025, and 9.1% spent at least 40% of their disposable income on housing. With high debt and tight budgets, governments have little room to respond; the European Commission expects France’s deficit at 5.1% of GDP in 2026.
- World Insights : Cost - of - living protests highlight mounting economic , social pressures across Europe
Recent protests across Europe reflect economic and social strains that extend beyond prices to housing, incomes, public services and economic security. In Lisbon, 81-year-old retiree Maria Teresa Faleiro faces eviction after her landlords refused to renew her lease, despite never missing a payment on her 724-euro (813-U.S. dollar) monthly rent over 22 years. In France, student protests over school conditions grew into nationwide demonstrations against living costs, with clashes, looting and arson reported in several cities. Eurostat data show 26.9 percent of young EU residents aged 15 to 29 lived in overcrowded households in 2025, and 9.1 percent spent at least 40 percent of disposable income on housing, versus 7.7 percent of the total population. With high debt and tight budgets limiting options, the European Commission expects France's deficit to reach 5.1 percent of GDP in 2026.
- World Insights : Cost - of - living protests highlight mounting economic , social pressures across Europe
Cost-of-living protests are spreading across Europe, reflecting concerns over housing, incomes, public services and economic security, while high debt and tight budgets leave governments few quick solutions. In Lisbon, 81-year-old retiree Maria Teresa Faleiro faces a court-ordered eviction after her landlords refused to renew her lease, even though she never missed a payment on her 724-euro (813-U.S. dollar) monthly rent over 22 years. In France, student-led protests over school conditions broadened into nationwide demonstrations over living costs, with violence in several cities, while more than 50 protests in Madrid and other Spanish cities on Oct. 3 demanded action on rents and evictions. Eurostat data show euro-area consumer energy inflation reached 18.9 percent in September 2026, and in 2025, 26.9 percent of young people aged 15 to 29 in the EU lived in overcrowded households. The European Central Bank said food prices across euro-area countries in August 2025 were 20 to 57 percent higher than at the end of 2019.
- Cost - of - living anger fuels protests across Europe amid deepening social - economic strains
Tens of thousands of people marched across European cities over the weekend, protesting surging living costs, housing shortages and strained public services. In France, about 550,000 people joined nationwide demonstrations on Saturday, and clashes left 997 police officers and gendarmes injured and 2,397 people arrested. In Milan, four officers and 20 protesters were hurt and about 50 people were detained, Brussels saw clashes, and tens of thousands in Portugal demanded affordable housing. French President Macron and Italian Prime Minister Meloni condemned the violence and vowed to prosecute those responsible. Eurofound's Eszter Sandor warned that the benefits of macroeconomic stability are not reaching the bottom half of the income distribution, eroding trust in governments.
- World Insights : Cost - of - living protests highlight mounting economic , social pressures across Europe
- World Insights : Cost - of - living protests highlight mounting economic , social pressures across Europe
Xinhua reports that recent protests across Europe reflect economic and social strains extending beyond prices to housing, incomes, public services and economic security. In Lisbon, 81-year-old retiree Maria Teresa Faleiro faces a court-ordered eviction after her landlords refused to renew her lease, despite never missing a payment on her 724-euro monthly rent over 22 years. Protests in France, which began over school conditions, spread into nationwide demonstrations with violence and property damage, while in Milan about 50 demonstrators were detained and at least four officers and 20 protesters were injured. Eurostat data shows euro-area consumer energy inflation reached 18.9 percent in September 2026, and 26.9 percent of young Europeans aged 15 to 29 in the EU lived in overcrowded households. The article notes that high debt, aging populations and competing defense and investment needs leave governments with limited room to respond, and the European Commission expects France's deficit at 5.1 percent of GDP in 2026.
Related markets
Latest news
- Bank Profits Surge
The 9-month 2026 results show many banks continued to grow profits, with some posting record quarterly earnings. VPBank's pre-tax profit reached nearly VND 30,000 billion, up nearly 47%, equal to its full-year 2025 result and about 72.4% of its 2026 plan; Q3 pre-tax profit topped VND 11,000 billion. Techcombank posted VND 28,900 billion (up 23.7%), while LPBank reported VND 10,421 billion (up nearly 9%). SSI forecasts pre-tax profit of its monitored banks to rise 19.5% in 2026 before slowing to 15.4% in 2027, pressured by narrowing net interest margins and rising credit risk provisions. It also expects system-wide credit growth of 16-17% in 2027 and 17.9% for the monitored banks.
- World's Largest Gold Fund Dumps Over 10 Tonnes of Gold as Prices Slide
SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold fund, continued net selling of nearly 12 tonnes of gold in the 22/10 session, bringing total sales over 2 sessions to nearly 15 tonnes and cutting its holdings to about 1,046 tonnes. Spot gold fell more than 2.8% to around USD 4,025 per ounce at the close of 22/10, and briefly dipped below USD 4,000 per ounce in the morning session of 23/10. Tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher, raising concerns about inflation and further Fed tightening, and gold has still not attracted sustained safe-haven demand even as US Treasury yields fell. US September CPI rose 0.6% month on month and 3.7% year on year, while PPI rose 1.3% and 6.3%. Markets price about an 84% chance the Fed holds rates steady at its 27-28/10 meeting and a 16% chance of a 25 basis-point increase; September PCE data due on 29/10 is the next key factor to watch.
- Gold Prices Continue to Fall
On the morning of 23/10, domestic gold prices kept falling, with SJC bar prices varying by seller and the premium over world gold widening. Công ty TNHH Vàng bạc đá quý Sài Gòn listed SJC bars at VND 139-142 million per tael (buy-sell), down VND 300,000; Phú Quý was at VND 138-141.8 million, down VND 500,000; and Mi Hồng at VND 140-141.5 million, down VND 800,000. Gold rings also fell by varying amounts, with DOJI at VND 138-142 million and Phú Quý at VND 138-141 million per tael. World gold dropped USD 129 to around USD 3,992 per ounce, equal to about VND 125.3 million per tael, leaving SJC bars about VND 16.7 million per tael above the world price. The State Bank's central rate was set at 25,627 VND/USD, down 5 dong, while Vietcombank quoted 25,660-26,040 VND/USD (buy-sell).
- Company Linked to Billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong Announces Major Good News
VEFAC (ticker VEF), a Vingroup subsidiary, posted Q3 net revenue of nearly VND 77 billion, up 67% year on year, but a gross loss of about VND 27 billion as cost of sales from its exhibition business exceeded revenue. Q3 profit rose mainly thanks to a gross gain of about VND 65 billion from transferring some schools in a project to a partner, while financial income reached over VND 388 billion, mostly from loan and investment income. For the first nine months of 2026, after-tax profit was nearly VND 865 billion, down about 94% from VND 15,418 billion in the same period of 2025, as the prior year included large gains from transferring part of the Vinhomes Global Gate project. As of 30/9/2026, total assets stood at over VND 31,905 billion, up 36% from the start of the year, while total liabilities exceeded VND 24,364 billion, with short-term customer advances rising from VND 411 billion to over VND 8,373 billion.
- Lotte and Phat Dat Officially Break Ground on VND 60,000 Billion Mega Project in Thu Thiem 'Golden Land'
A joint venture between Lotte Group (South Korea) and Phát Đạt (HoSE: PDR) officially broke ground on 23/10 on Lotte Eco Smart City Thu Thiem in the Thu Thiem New Urban Area, HCMC, with total investment of about VND 60,000 billion. The project covers nearly 7.5 ha and will combine Grade A offices, retail, services, accommodation and housing, adjoining the central plaza and central lake of Thu Thiem. Phát Đạt holds 35% of Lotte Properties HCMC, the project developer, and will develop the housing blocks along with two towers (2-1 and 2-3) with about 219,722 m2 of floor area, while Lotte handles block 2-5. Lotte Properties HCMC paid VND 17,569 billion in land-use fees on 31/7/2026, and Phát Đạt completed its VND 7,666 billion payment to take its 35% stake. MB is funding all of Phát Đạt's capital contribution, while VietinBank and BIDV also support the project.
- International Business : Global stocks nosedive as Meta dents AI optimism
Global stocks retreated as tech earnings failed to ease concerns about the AI outlook, with MSCI's All-World index set for its largest daily fall in two weeks, down 0.4 per cent. Meta beat third-quarter revenue expectations, but its plan to issue non-voting stock revived worries about its mounting capital commitments, and a New Mexico judge ordered it to pay a $25 billion penalty in a data privacy case. Brent crude rose nearly 3% to $112 a barrel, near a five-month high, after more Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia raised supply risks. Investors moved into government bonds, pushing the US 10-year yield down to 5.05%, below France's for the first time in 13 years, while French yields have climbed above 5% amid concerns over social unrest and debt. The France-Germany 10-year spread reached 177.7 basis points, its widest since 2011, while gold fell 1.8% to $4,070 an ounce.
Get the briefing on Telegram or Zalo
Join the Upside Telegram channel or Zalo group for the Vietnam stocks and gold briefing at 8:00 and 19:00 (Vietnam time) on trading days, plus a weekly wrap on Saturday morning.