Protests and police clashes spread across several European cities

Protests that began in France over recent unrest expanded to multiple European capitals on Saturday. In Tirana, Albania, demonstrators gathered outside the Ministry of Education to demand lower tuition fees, increased state investment in education and the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama. Police deployed more than 2,500 officers and used water cannons to disperse the crowd, which set fire to dumpsters and other objects placed by the government as a symbolic invitation to dialogue.

In Brussels, Belgium, police also employed water cannons and tear gas to clear student-made barricades. Retailers in the city boarded up shops in anticipation of possible looting. A separate incident involved protesters attempting to set fire to rental scooters and other items, which police stopped; witnesses reported an officer striking a protester.

Italian cities including Naples, Rome, Turin, Bologna, Florence and Milan saw stores board up windows as a precaution. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni ordered the deployment of 500 soldiers to Milan, along with drone surveillance and rapid-response units. Demonstrations in Rome turned violent, with bottles and fireworks thrown at police, while in Turin and Florence protesters used rocks, smoke bombs and other projectiles, prompting the use of tear gas.

The U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Italy issued a high-alert advisory, recommending Americans avoid crowded areas such as Milan's Piazza Duomo and major commercial streets. In Spain, more than 25,000 people marched in Madrid to call for pension system reforms, and masked participants in Barcelona were reported to have broken a glass kiosk and started fires. Authorities noted that extremist groups had called for attacks on demonstrators and police in Spain and Portugal.