After France and Italy, protests erupt in Spain: What’s fueling the anger?

After people in Belgium, Italy, Portugal and France protested, Spain has also begun protesting over the state pension scheme. Nearly 250,00 people are moving through central Madrid, according to central officials. The state pension scheme in Spain is one of the hot topics in a parliamentary election next month.

Why protest in Spain?

The protest followed amid a political row that surfaced over the sustainability of Spain’s pension scheme and the cost of living. In response, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who leads Spain’s Socialist Party (PSOE), accused right-wing opposition parties of planning to weaken or roll back the system where pensions automatically increase in line with inflation.

This protest follows a similar pattern and activity witnessed in cities across Europe, most notably in France, where several demonstrators have gathered in cities across the country. In Madrid, protestors have also walked peacefully from Atocha train station to the Gran Via, the Spanish capital’s prime shopping avenue. A few days ago, people were also protesting in Spain over inflation, the cost of living, and the housing shortage.

Also read: France protests: 135 arrested, weapons seized as fresh demonstrations erupt amid heavy security

Across Europe, hundreds of thousands of people have independently taken to the streets in a series of uncoordinated protests driven by growing frustration over the rising cost of living in their countries. The wave of unrest that swept through Belgium, France, Italy and Portugal last week has piled pressure on governments across the European Union.

France bore the brunt of it, witnessing one of its most chaotic protest days in decades. The Interior Ministry put the number of demonstrators at over 550,000, with clashes breaking out between police and protesters nationwide.

What began as a continuation of weeks-long student-led demonstrations spiralled into violence, vandalism and arson after radical fringe elements targeted government buildings, high-end stores and supermarkets, while also attacking police personnel and vehicles.

According to French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, authorities arrested 1,200 people, while 150 police officers sustained injuries. Speaking to officers stationed in central Paris, he remarked that it was “a miracle the toll wasn’t higher.” AFP reported that shops across multiple cities — including Paris, Marseille, Nice, Nantes, Bordeaux, Limoges, Lille, Toulouse and Strasbourg — were ransacked during the unrest.