France and Spain See Youth-Led Protests Over Housing and Education

Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in roughly 50 Spanish cities over the country's deepening housing crisis, with a protest camp growing in Madrid's Puerta del Sol plaza. The unrest was sparked by the eviction of an 87-year-old woman after an investment fund raised her rent by 230%. Over the past decade, Spanish rents have climbed 80%, leaving many renting a one-bedroom flat for the equivalent of a full median salary.

In France, high school students have for weeks clashed with police over long school days, chronic teacher shortages, deteriorating classrooms and an opaque university admissions process. More than 5,000 arrests and ongoing unrest forced the closure of roughly 500 secondary schools by Monday.

Governments under pressure

Both governments have limited room to respond. Spain's prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, called a snap general election on Monday after rightwing parties blocked his emergency housing bill. In France, prime minister Sébastien Lecornu has urged local authorities to prioritise filling long-term teacher vacancies and called urgent talks on repairing dilapidated school buildings.

Opposition forces on both ends of the political spectrum are capitalising on the discontent. In France, Jean-Luc Mélenchon's radical left has openly sided with protesters, while Marine Le Pen's National Rally has used footage of burning barricades to accuse centrist leaders of tolerating unchecked violence. In Spain, left-wing parties Podemos and Sumar blame runaway financial speculation, while the far-right Vox backed the conservative Partido Popular in blocking Sánchez's housing package.

Observers note that as young people increasingly conclude that existing institutions guarantee them neither affordable housing nor functioning schools, mainstream governments risk losing legitimacy, squeezed between radicalised opposition on both the left and right.