Protests across several European countries: is the French student movement spreading?

Social protests, in some places violent, have recently erupted in several European countries. Politico Europe, the Brussels-based news outlet, examines them in its "Playbook Paris" podcast. According to its description, the unrest is taking place in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Albania and Germany. It matters because it raises the question of whether a common wave of public discontent is spreading across Europe.

Different causes

Some of the movements explicitly cite the French high-school students' protests as their model. This is the case in northern Italy. Protests elsewhere are tied to housing problems or the cost of living. So there is no single shared cause, and the triggers differ from country to country.

The questions under discussion

Host Marcelo discusses two questions with guests Marion and Giorgio. The first is whether anger is spreading by contagion, with the French example inspiring other countries. The second is whether foreign interference is fuelling these processes, with the aim of weakening Europe.

The source description does not answer either question. It also gives no concrete figures on the size or location of the protests or on how many people have taken part. It only indicates that signs of social tension have become visible in several countries at once, and that the discussion tries to establish whether a common logic links them.