Italian demonstrators clash with police at Piazza Duomo in Milan on Saturday (AFP)
France witnessed one of its most turbulent days of protests in decades on Saturday, with more than 550,000 people taking part in demonstrations across the country, according to Al Jazeera.
The protests were driven by country-specific grievances, although demonstrators shared concerns about the cost of living and public services, according to Al Jazeera. “There is a constitutional right to protest and to express oneself,” he said, adding that the right required respect for people and property. President Emmanuel Macron appealed for calm ahead of the demonstrations, defending the right to protest while warning against violence.
Portuguese Parliamentary affairs minister Carlos Abreu Amorim said the government would not give in to pressure from street demonstrations, stating that the “government will not yield to shouts from the street”. Belgian interior minister Bernard Quintin condemned the violence, saying, “What is unfolding in Brussels is no longer mere protest,” and warned that “all necessary means will be used to restore order in the face of the rioters”. Turning our cities into battlegrounds is not,” she said in a post on X. Alberto Alemanno, professor of EU law and policy at HEC Paris, told Al Jazeera that the protests could spread to other European countries, including Greece, Germany and Austria.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the violence while defending peaceful demonstrations. “Demonstrating is a right.