Thousands of people are expected to take to the streets across Portugal today (Saturday, October 17) in a nationwide protest against the rising cost of living, with demonstrations planned in
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The dispute has exposed differences over secularism, religious freedom and Azerbaijan’s relationship with Israel, raising questions about the durability of one of the region’s closest strategic alliances.
Azerbaijan is facing an unusual wave of protests after new school dress regulations led to girls wearing Islamic headscarves being excluded from classrooms and teachers reportedly being ordered to remove their hijabs. The controversy has escalated into a diplomatic dispute with Turkey, whose governing party has been accused by President Ilham Aliyev’s administration of interfering in Azerbaijan’s internal affairs.
The confrontation intensified on 13 October when Azerbaijan’s ruling New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) publicly condemned senior figures in President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP). The dispute has since widened to encompass Azerbaijan’s relations with Israel, exposing political differences between two countries accustomed to describing themselves as “one nation, two states”.
The controversy began on 21 September, when Azerbaijan’s government adopted Resolution No. 309, amending the regulations governing uniforms in state schools. The changes prohibit clothing that conflicts with prescribed uniforms or the secular character of public education.
Although the new regulations do not explicitly mention Islamic headscarves, some schools have interpreted them as prohibiting the hijab. A further decision on 6 October introduced similar requirements for teachers. Women in Baku and Sumgayit subsequently reported being instructed to remove their headscarves or risk losing their positions.
The enforcement of these regulations prompted demonstrations outside schools, with girls carrying placards demanding access to education. Male pupils also joined protests in support of their classmates. Such demonstrations are unusual in Azerbaijan, where public assemblies face extensive restrictions.
On 12 October, the Interior Ministry reported that 37 people had been detained in Baku, alleging disruption of public order, damage to property and obstruction of school activities. Activists claimed that more than 200 people had been detained, although that higher figure has not been independently confirmed.
In a statement issued on 16 October, Amnesty International criticised the exclusion of pupils and called for the release of peaceful demonstrators. The organisation also raised concerns over the reported detention of a mother protesting her daughter’s exclusion and the disappearance of an activist who had organised educational assistance for affected children.
Access to TikTok and Instagram was disrupted as the protests spread online. Internet monitoring organisations documented restrictions, although Azerbaijani authorities have not publicly explained their cause.
The dispute acquired an international dimension when Oktay Saral, a senior adviser to Erdoğan, condemned the exclusion of girls wearing headscarves.
In a public statement on 12 October, Saral questioned how preventing a girl from attending school because of her religious clothing could be reconciled with justice. He demanded that Azerbaijan reverse the restrictions. Several AKP parliamentarians subsequently joined the criticism.
The response from Baku was unusually confrontational. In its official statement, the New Azerbaijan Party accused Turkish political figures and media organisations of conducting a systematic campaign against Azerbaijan.
The party argued that religious solidarity did not entitle one Muslim-majority country to dictate another’s domestic policies. It described the Turkish politicians’ interventions as irresponsible and warned against attempts to interfere with Azerbaijan’s sovereignty.
The disagreement reflects contrasting approaches to secularism. Azerbaijan, a predominantly Shia Muslim country, has maintained strict state control over religious institutions since independence from the Soviet Union. Turkey, by contrast, has progressively removed restrictions on Islamic headscarves under Erdoğan’s government, reversing policies previously associated with its secular establishment.
The dispute has also reopened disagreements concerning Azerbaijan’s relationship with Israel.
Baku maintains substantial security and defence cooperation with Israel, including military technology and equipment supplied during its conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh. Turkey supported Azerbaijan during that conflict but has adopted an increasingly confrontational position towards Israel.
As EU Today has previously examined, the relationships between Turkey, Azerbaijan and Israel reveal competing strategic interests beneath Ankara and Baku’s declared solidarity.
In its October statement, the New Azerbaijan Party specifically rejected criticism of Azerbaijani-Israeli relations, insisting that its dealings with Israel were legitimate bilateral arrangements. The inclusion of Israel in a response ostensibly concerning school uniforms indicates that the disagreement extends beyond religious clothing.
A further escalation emerged on 16 October when Azerbaijani prosecutors announced charges against Turkish journalist Celal Çiftçi, accusing him of advocating the violent overthrow of the Azerbaijani government in social media posts connected to the controversy. An arrest warrant was reportedly issued in his absence. Prosecutors did not publish the posts, and Çiftçi’s response was not available.
Despite the increasingly hostile exchanges, there is little evidence of an imminent diplomatic rupture.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan travelled to Baku on 15 October and met President Aliyev. The meeting addressed recent developments in bilateral relations, while Fidan publicly emphasised the enduring strategic partnership between the countries.
He acknowledged that differences could arise but argued that they should be resolved through direct dialogue rather than political confrontations on social media. Senior AKP figures have also sought to reduce tensions, stressing respect for Azerbaijan’s sovereign decisions.
The relationship extends far beyond shared language and cultural identity. Turkish military cooperation has been central to Azerbaijan’s regional security policy, while energy infrastructure and transport corridors connect the countries economically. Ankara also remains an important actor in the changing strategic balance of the South Caucasus.
For the European Union, the confrontation is relevant because Azerbaijan remains an important energy supplier and trading partner, while Turkey occupies a central position in regional transport and security arrangements.
The immediate question is whether Baku will reconsider the application of its school regulations. The wider political dispute concerns the extent to which Turkey can criticise Azerbaijan’s domestic policies without jeopardising a partnership that both governments have consistently presented as a cornerstone of their foreign policy.
The public confrontation has exposed differences that had previously been managed within the bilateral relationship. However, Fidan’s intervention and the continued diplomatic engagement suggest that both governments are seeking to contain the dispute rather than dismantle their alliance.
More than 25,000 police officers were deployed across New Delhi recently to prevent demonstrations led by India’s new youth-led political movement, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). Government authorities had denied the CJP permission to protest on public-order grounds. The ensuing security operation saw the authorities shut one in six metro stations in the capital, barricade […]
The post Can a cockroach movement reverse India’s democratic decline? appeared first on Asia Times.
On Friday, thousands of students and teachers took to the streets in several Italian cities to protest the policies of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
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The protests followed several days marked by a wave of school occupations in Milan, Naples, Turin, Genoa, Bologna and Rome.
The nationwide mobilization, dubbed “No Meloni Day,” combined demands over budget allocations with direct criticism of the Italian government’s environmental policies.
Student groups denounced the progressive deterioration of school infrastructure and called for the €13 billion allocated to military spending to be redirected toward education.
Representatives of the Alternative Student Opposition criticized the rising cost of living and announced a general strike scheduled for Oct. 30.
Un carro armato di cartone è stato dato alle fiamme durante il corteo degli studenti a Torino. Alcuni manifestanti hanno incendiato il modellino con fumogeni colorati, accompagnati dai cori "Brucia, brucia" e dallo slogan "Noi la guerra non la paghiamo", per protestare contro le… pic.twitter.com/RM7BH94cf9
— Sky tg24 (@SkyTG24) October 16, 2026
The text reads, “During a student protest in Turin, a cardboard tank was set on fire. Demonstrators ignited the model using colored smoke flares, chanting “Burn, Burn!” and the slogan “We will not pay for war,” as a form of protest against military spending.
The demonstration was part of the “No Meloni Day”—a day of student mobilization against the government’s educational policies, rising tuition costs, and increased military expenditure.
Similar protests took place across Italy, specifically in Rome, Milan, Florence, Genoa, Venice, Padua, Treviso, and Cagliari. In the capital, organizers estimated the turnout at 20,000 people, while in Turin, more than 2,500 students took to the streets.”
During marches in Rome, tensions escalated when some protesters threw firecrackers and trash containers outside the Education Ministry. Riot police and Carabinieri officers established security cordons and used tear gas to disperse the crowd on Via Marmorata.
“Thousands of students marched from the Colosseum to the Education Ministry. Tensions rose because of a group of masked protesters who threw bottles and improvised explosive devices at law enforcement officers, as well as discharged fire extinguishers,” RaiNews reported.
Similar clashes occurred in Turin and Bologna outside the prefecture and the central railway station, where police responded with water cannons. The violence led to confrontations involving blunt objects, the detention of a masked minor and severe disruptions to rail traffic in northern Italy.
"No Meloni Day"
— 𝕃𝕦𝕔𝕚𝕒𝕟𝕠 𝕃𝕦𝕝𝕫 (@altrella_l) October 16, 2026
Police charges against students
in Rome and Turin. pic.twitter.com/5IGt2pUQLU
Students Reject Discrimination and Racism
Thousands of people marched peacefully in Milan, holding signs and chanting slogans in support of social integration. Youth organizations strongly opposed Meloni’s “Valditara Decree,” which they described as discriminatory and racist.
In effect since June, the decree bans sex and relationship education at the preschool and elementary school levels and requires parental consent to address these topics at other educational levels. It also sets a maximum of 30% for foreign students in each classroom.
“Are these really the problems that need to be solved?” and “Racists out of our schools!” protesters shouted, according to RAI News.
“An entire generation has taken to the streets because it refuses to bow its head — to mind its own business — while others destroy our future,” said Alice, who linked the student movement’s demands to the genocide in Gaza.
“And it all starts right here, in our schools. The pro-Palestinian demonstrations made that clear: Some people have blood on their hands — the blood of genocides taking place around the world — and those same hands are cutting funding for our schools, our lives, and a dignified future in this city.”
“Outside the regional education authority’s headquarters, some participants threw eggs filled with red paint, declaring, ‘This is the blood of Gaza and Palestine,’” RaiNews reported.
No Meloni day here in Italy and antifascist students are facing-off with her cops right now in Bologna. Solidarity comrades.
— GhostofDurruti (@DurrutiRiot) November 14, 2025
No Fascism. No Genocide. No Meloni. pic.twitter.com/wQsgtjRRV2
Truckers, Farmers and Environmentalists Voice Discontent
On Friday, southern Italy faced a severe fuel shortage in the provinces of Calabria, Basilicata and Apulia because of protests by truckers and farmers. Steelworkers’ blockades at Eni’s Taranto refinery brought gas stations to a standstill, causing long lines and operational difficulties for public transportation.
The transport industry association Conftrasporto reported an increase of more than 50 euro cents per liter in diesel prices and demanded the immediate release of budget funds.
Facing the imminent risk of supply shortages, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport called an emergency meeting with industry representatives for Oct. 27.
The student mobilization also coincided with global protests organized by “Fridays for Future” in support of climate action and against fossil fuels.
Italian environmentalists marched to the Environment Ministry in Rome to demand reductions in polluting emissions and action to combat energy poverty across the country.
teleSUR/ JF
Source: RAI – EFE – teleSUR
France is preparing for a nationwide wave of demonstrations on Saturday, 17 October, with approximately 500 protest actions under consideration and more than 90 marches being organised, according to the Interior Ministry. The mobilisation brings together high-school students, trade unions, farmers and supporters of the Yellow Vest movement, raising the prospect of further confrontation after nearly a month of unrest.
Police estimates suggest that around 40,000 demonstrators could gather in Paris, with approximately 150,000 more expected elsewhere in France. The figures remain preliminary, while authorities warn that some protests could involve road blockades, disruption to essential infrastructure and violent clashes.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez initially outlined preparations for 250 gatherings and 80 marches on Friday morning. Subsequent assessments from his office indicated that as many as 500 actions were being considered, although not all had been formally organised.
The authorities are particularly concerned about developments in the capital, where negotiations between police and protest organisers have failed to produce agreement over the proposed routes.
Paris police prefect Patrice Faure has rejected proposals for marches terminating near the Opéra district or Place de la Concorde, citing security concerns surrounding central government institutions.
According to details of the security preparations, police have proposed an alternative route between Place de la Bastille and Place de Clichy. The CGT trade union and climate campaigners have accepted the proposal, but student organisations and Yellow Vest representatives continue to oppose it.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has convened an interministerial crisis unit to coordinate the government’s response. Security officials have warned that attempts to obstruct major transport routes or critical infrastructure will not be tolerated.
The Interior Ministry has also indicated that stun grenades, whose use was suspended during the student protests, could again be deployed in cases of particularly serious urban violence.
Saturday’s demonstrations are being promoted as a revival of the Yellow Vest movement, which emerged in 2018 following opposition to fuel taxation before developing into a broader protest against living costs, economic inequality and government policy.
The latest mobilisation has gathered support from organisations demanding measures to address rising fuel, energy and food prices. Campaigners are also challenging the government’s proposed 2027 budget and its implications for public services.
The agricultural union Confédération paysanne has called on farmers to join the demonstrations, arguing that rising agricultural fuel costs and deteriorating conditions in rural communities have increased pressure on producers.
The union has also linked its demands to environmental policy, public-service provision and access to affordable food.
The CGT, student unions and climate organisations have similarly expressed support for the protests, while political backing has come from La France Insoumise and the French Communist Party.
The mobilisation follows weeks of demonstrations involving secondary-school pupils, teachers and public-sector workers. What began as protests over shortages of teachers, overcrowded classrooms and deteriorating school buildings has developed into a nationwide confrontation over education policy and policing.
As EU Today previously reported, between 400 and 500 secondary schools faced partial or complete disruption earlier this month as students organised blockades and demonstrations.
The movement has subsequently expanded beyond its original educational demands, with student organisations raising concerns about university admissions procedures, police tactics and government spending priorities.
The scale of the unrest has placed considerable pressure on French authorities. According to figures from the Justice Ministry, 6,877 people were placed in police custody during the protests between late September and 8 October, approximately 86 per cent of them minors.
Violence during the demonstrations has resulted in injuries among police officers, students and educational staff. Clashes on 8 October led to 504 arrests and injuries to 48 police officers, according to Interior Ministry figures.
Education Minister Édouard Geffray has announced emergency measures to address teacher shortages, including the deployment of replacement teachers. The ministry says 2,000 of the 3,000 promised replacements have already been assigned, but student organisations maintain that the measures are insufficient.
The planned demonstrations come as France faces a difficult debate over public spending, taxation and the 2027 budget. Lecornu’s government must balance demands for higher salaries and increased investment in education against mounting pressure to reduce the deficit.
France’s deteriorating public finances have already attracted scrutiny from eurozone partners, while domestic opposition to spending restraint has become a central issue ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The convergence of student organisations, trade unions and Yellow Vest campaigners could broaden the protests beyond the education sector, particularly if demonstrations over living costs attract participants who have not joined the recent school protests.
However, the extent of that mobilisation remains uncertain. Online protest maps contain substantially more proposed actions than the authorities’ estimates, and participation figures will not be established until Saturday.
For the government, the immediate test will be whether the demonstrations remain peaceful and whether the authorities can prevent disruption to transport networks and public services without provoking further confrontations with protesters.
New Delhi police arrested Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the youth movement Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), popularly known as the “Cockroaches,” on Friday just as a new protest began demanding the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar, head of the Election Commission.
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The arrest took place as the leader was heading to the protest, where hundreds of demonstrators had already gathered. In a video shared by the organization on its social media accounts, several officers can be seen forcibly putting Dipke into a police vehicle and taking him away.
“This government is very afraid of young people waving the national flag! Dictatorship!” the CJP said, describing the arrest of its leader as “a serious violation of his rights.”
Police also arrested student activist Neha Bora, another prominent figure in the protest movement. She was detained in front of the Nepalese Embassy in New Delhi while leading a march toward Connaught Place.
Abhijeet Dipke was quietly leaving for protest march. Within 24 seconds, Delhi Police detained him. pic.twitter.com/dtQgBRrclG
— News Algebra (@NewsAlgebraIND) October 16, 2026
“How many people will Modi-Shah arrest? For every arrest this government makes, more young people will take to the streets!” the Cockroach Janta Party said.
To try to circumvent the heavy security deployment in the capital’s central commercial district and avoid arrests for unlawful assembly, the movement had issued instructions to its supporters hours earlier.
The instructions were to arrive in groups of fewer than five people, unfurl the Indian tricolor flag (Tiranga), take a photograph and leave peacefully to demonstrate that waving the flag “is not a crime.”
We will not be silenced, we will build Jantar Mantars everywhere ✊🔥 See you in London tomorrow, bring your tiranga bring your voice 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/gez9ucwoJD
— Students' Federation of India – United Kingdom (@sfi_uk) October 15, 2026
On Friday morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) issued a statement accusing the demonstrators of seeking an “anti-national revolution” and sowing “anarchy” in the country.
The arrests have left the organization almost entirely without its leadership, adding to the detention of two other spokespeople who remain in judicial custody at Tihar Jail after taking part in a protest Tuesday at Jantar Mantar, a traditional protest site from which authorities recently withdrew that designation.
The “Cockroaches,” which emerged in May as a satirical youth movement protesting unemployment and irregularities in university examinations, have expanded their demonstrations to include a review of the electoral rolls. They are demanding the resignation of Election Commission chief Gyanesh Kumar, whom they hold responsible for alleged irregularities.
teleSUR/ JF
Source: EFE
The United Nations warned Thursday that Colombia’s new rules governing protests could give police excessive discretion to use force, potentially putting peaceful demonstrators at risk.
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Signed Tuesday by President Abelardo de la Espriella, the decree changes police procedures during demonstrations, allowing authorities to act against people committing violent acts without waiting for dialogue with protesters to conclude.
In a statement released Thursday, the UN Human Rights Office in Colombia raised concerns about the criteria for ending negotiations, the decree’s definition of violence and the circumstances under which authorities can intervene in road blockades.
Some provisions are open to broad interpretation, the office warned, potentially allowing authorities to end dialogue and resort to force.
The decree identifies several grounds for intervention, including carrying or using weapons, holding people against their will, assaulting others and destroying infrastructure. The UN acknowledged that these acts pose different risks to life and physical integrity but said they must be addressed separately.
Action against people committing violent acts should not automatically end dialogue with demonstrators who continue to protest peacefully, the office said.
It also stressed that force, including less-lethal weapons, must be used only as a last resort, after nonviolent means of restraint have been exhausted, in accordance with General Comment No. 37 on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella signed Decree 1525, a measure that facilitates police repression by broadening the definition of “violence” during popular protests.
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) October 14, 2026
Interior Minister Rodrigo Lara warned that the new regulation will take effect before demonstrations… pic.twitter.com/YYfouyRGyt
The office also criticized the decree’s definition of violence as broader than international standards, noting that it includes threats of aggression and conduct that does not necessarily cause injuries, deaths or serious property damage.
Authorities should distinguish between carrying an object that could be considered a weapon, threatening to use it and actually using it, the UN said. Possession alone does not make someone violent or change the peaceful nature of an assembly.
The UN warned that blocking a road does not, by itself, make a demonstration violent. It also called for a review of the decree’s reference to a “serious and imminent disruption,” saying the criterion could be used to justify breaking up peaceful protests.
The duration of a blockade, the importance of the road affected and the resulting economic losses should not, on their own, justify coercive action, the office said.
“Economic impact or disruption to the normal functioning of a productive activity should not, in themselves, constitute justification for the use of force,” it said.
The office acknowledged that some provisions could help protect the right to peaceful protest, particularly those distinguishing peaceful demonstrators from people committing violent acts. However, it insisted that protecting peaceful assemblies must remain the primary objective of any changes to protest regulations.
The UN office said it had consulted the Colombian government on the decree and that some of its proposed amendments were incorporated into the version signed Tuesday.
Concerns are growing over the possibility of further unrest in Portugal as housing protests continue in Porto and organisers prepare for a similar demonstration in Lisbon on Saturday, October 17.
The post Housing crisis: Porto unrest raises concerns ahead of Lisbon protest appeared first on Portugal Resident.
Demands for educational improvements, a lack of prospects after graduation and corruption allegations leveled against Albania’s government by thousands of young people converged on Thursday in clashes with riot police and acts of vandalism that continued to devastate businesses and street furniture in Tirana.
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Since about 20 people were detained on Tuesday during an attack on the Education Ministry, the protests have intensified, culminating in a fire at the building on Wednesday. Authorities have reported 70 police officers injured and said most of those arrested were not students.
Police Director Skënder Hita said very few of those arrested were students, a claim that contrasts with the fact that most demonstrators are teenagers, many of them of high school age, according to observations by news agency EFE. By midafternoon, Tirana’s Trauma Hospital had treated 26 people.
Police took a much tougher approach on Thursday. Thousands of young people who took to the streets failed in their attempts to reach the Education Ministry, Parliament, and the office of Prime Minister Edi Rama at night.
Riot police were deployed throughout the city, blocking students’ access with water cannons and tear gas. Many of the demonstrators were high school students who threw paving stones and fireworks.
The demonstrators did manage to set fire to the entrance of the Economy Ministry, which was damaged on Wednesday, even entered the building, vandalizing its furnishings.
Protests also took place in other cities, including Elbasan, Korce, Durres and Shkoder, where a senior police officer was in critical condition after being struck in the head by a stone.
Against Corruption
Rama has faced growing public mobilization since May. It all began as a protest against plans to sell land in a nature park for a tourism project linked to Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump.
From there, the Flamingo Revolution, named after the birds that inhabit the reserve, expanded to include demands for greater democracy and transparency.
“The students’ demands are a natural extension of the protest movement’s main concerns, particularly the fight against corruption, the rising cost of living, and the prime minister’s arrogance and lack of accountability,” said the Flamingo Revolution platform, which has no visible leader and has accused Rama of “selling the country” through real estate projects.
Beyond the actions of isolated violent groups, the radical protests by young Albanians reflect a sense of frustration that some media outlets have linked to similar discontent in other countries experiencing comparable demonstrations, such as France.
The Albanian prime minister has made clear that he will not resign and has blamed the violence on the conservative opposition, accusing it of trying to “bring Albania down every time it tries to move forward.”
Rama, who has been in power since 2013, saw his Socialist Party win the May 2025 election for the fourth consecutive time, securing an absolute majority. He told Reuters on Thursday that the victory gives him greater legitimacy than any protest.
Under his leadership, the country has advanced its bid to join the European Union, a goal it hopes to achieve by 2030. However, those advances have not lifted Albania from its status as one of Europe’s poorest countries.
“Our students will be the first Albanians to enter adulthood as Europeans,” said Roland, a taxi driver who maintains that the country has modernized under Rama’s leadership and accuses the opposition of trying to prevent that progress.
teleSUR/ JF
Sources: EFE – Reuters
On Thursday, thousands of French people continued protesting and blocking educational centers just hours before student organizations hold a new meeting with the Education Ministry, the third since the start of the protests more than two weeks ago.
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Among the blocked institutions is the Paris School of Commerce (HEC), a symbolic place in these protests given that it is one of the most elitist and prestigious institutions in France.
This action shows its solidarity with the student movement, on the eve of a major day of demonstration scheduled for this Saturday, which will be joined by other movements related to the protest over the rising cost of living or agricultural demands. Some French media have described this expression of unity among social groups as a resurgence of the “yellow vests.”
So far, over 1,000 demonstrations are expected to take place across the country on the first day of the two-week “All Saints” school holidays, a date on which President Emmanuel Macron’s government hoped the protests would ease.
"When you see that 98% of news channels' airtime is devoted to burning rubbish bins and only 2% to our demands, of course it makes us angry!”
— BreakThrough News (@BTnewsroom) October 14, 2026
Thousands of students, teachers, and supporters rallied in Nantes on Tuesday to demand more funding for public education.
Demonstrators… pic.twitter.com/mGUgmL44A1
On Thursday morning, HEC directors closed their offices to mark their exasperation with the current situation and with the attacks suffered by some teachers. Meanwhile, the Macron administration is trying to control the student protest through negotiations.
Initially, the French government announced the deployment of 3,000 additional teachers, of whom 2,000 are already in their posts, to try to alleviate the teacher shortage, one of the most widespread demands among high school students.
Education Minister Edouard Geffray will receive the student organizations this afternoon for a third meeting, although the French are skeptical of achieving positive results.
“We will go to the meeting with little hope; the Education Ministry is not responding to our demands. We want to meet with the prime minister, who is the one who appears to have budgetary room,” said the vice president of the ‘Les Lyceens!’ union, Louis Letoubon.
🇫🇷Interesting Footage from France captures the moment a brave French student single-handedly takes on a dozen French riot police. This is the kind of spirit that can bring the cowardly French riot police to their knees; imagine if you had a hundred guys like this leading a… pic.twitter.com/9AsCpFT1aD
— Blackrussian (@Blackrussiantv) October 15, 2026
There Is a Moment of Fatigue in the Country: Lecornu
As expected, the calls for dialogue have been accompanied by attempts to delegitimize the social protest. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu lashed out against the students while symbolically defending “the right” of citizens to peacefully express their discontent.
“This no longer seems like a student movement. We are facing an urban violence movement,” declared Lecornu, who admitted that the intensity of the protests has increased in Paris, Creteil, and Lyon.
The prime minister denounced the firing of pyrotechnic mortars from the street against high schools or “absolutely horrifying calls to violence.” According to him, around 200 of the country’s 3,700 high schools are experiencing episodes of “entrenched” violence, sometimes carried out by people outside the centers.
“We must clearly distinguish between urban violence and legitimate demands,” said the prime minister, who expressed his fear of new disturbances on Saturday during the demonstrations called against the cost of living, in which the Yellow Vests could be present again.
Lunettes étanches, eau, masque FFP2 : France 3 Alsace publie un tuto pour se protéger des lacrymogènes avant les manifestations lycéennes. Les interna… https://t.co/qdgyr3eFAZ pic.twitter.com/iWBVkbQd57
— Tribunal du net (@Letribunaldunet) October 15, 2026
The text reads, “Waterproof goggles, water, FFP2 mask. France 3 Alsace publishes a tutorial on how to protect oneself from tear gas before the high school student demonstrations. The boarding school students”
Lecornu acknowledged that France is going through a period of social exhaustion marked by crises and uncertainty. “We are in a kind of permanent crisis situation: wars, uncertainty about purchasing power and inflation… It is evident that there is a moment of fatigue in the country. I perceive it deeply,” he said before immediately insinuating that left-wing organizations are trying to take advantage of that malaise to “turn it into electoral fuel.”
The prime minister promised to respond to student demands. He said the platform enabled to collect their proposals has received over 92,000 contributions so far.
Among the main demands are the improvement of school facilities, the replacement of absent teachers and the adaptation of educational resources to the needs of each territory.
The Macron administration plans to work with regional councils to evaluate the state of the buildings and the needs of the centers, according to Lecornu, who defended the mobilization of 3,000 teachers from a substitute reserve to cover absences.
He also proposed opening a broader debate on the consequences of demographic decline for the education system. France will have 1.6 million fewer students by 2035, an evolution that will force a review of the organization of educational centers, especially in rural areas.
teleSUR/ JF
Source: EFE
Thousands of people took to the streets across Colombia on Wednesday in the first national strike against President Abelardo de la Espriella’s administration, as police used tear gas, rubber bullets and armored vehicles to disperse demonstrators in several cities.
RELATED: Colombia Holds First National Strike Against De la Espriella
Protests spread across more than a dozen departmental capitals and municipalities, including Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla, Ibagué, Popayán and Bucaramanga. In Bogotá, four columns of demonstrators converged on Bolívar Square under a security operation monitored by a Unified Command Post.
In Medellín, demonstrations escalated into clashes between protesters and the Mobile Anti-Riot Squadron (ESMAD). Security forces deployed tear gas, rubber bullets and armored vehicles, leading to several arrests. Assaults on members of the press were also reported.
Clashes and serious public disturbances were also recorded in Ibagué and Popayán following police interventions. Human rights organizations, including the NGO Temblores, denounced the presence of armed men carrying rifles on the rooftops of government buildings in Bogotá, describing their deployment as a direct threat to protesters.
The demonstrations brought together trade unions, teachers, university students, Indigenous communities, LGBTQ+ groups and feminist organizations. Opposition figures, including former President Gustavo Petro and Senator Iván Cepeda, also took part.
Protesters called for labor, education and social protections, seeking to preserve measures introduced under the previous administration, including free access to public universities and increases in the minimum wage. They opposed what they described as a neoliberal shift under De la Espriella’s government, citing budget cuts and the administration’s initial economic reforms.
Colombianos:
— Abelardo De La Espriella (@ABDELAESPRIELLA) October 15, 2026
Me dirijo a ustedes esta noche para entregarles un balance claro, objetivo y contundente de la jornada de manifestaciones que vivió hoy nuestro país.
¡Que quede absolutamente claro! El 98% de las movilizaciones transcurrió de manera pacífica.
La inmensa mayoría de… pic.twitter.com/CmllZVPBtu
Text Reads: Colombians: I address you tonight to deliver a clear, objective, and unequivocal report on the day of demonstrations that our country experienced today. Let it be absolutely clear! 98% of the mobilizations took place peacefully. The vast majority of those who took to the streets exercised their legitimate right to protest in an orderly and respectful manner toward the institutions. That is democracy, and as President of the Republic, I will always defend and guarantee it. At the close of this day, the national tally records a total of 62,000 citizens mobilized. A figure that represents a very small proportion of the Colombian population, but whose rights and guarantees deserve the full respect of the State. From the first day of my Government, I have issued a directive that admits no interpretations: peaceful protest is respected, protected, and guaranteed. But violence, vandalism, and any attempt to violate the rights of others will have no place under my mandate. Because as legitimate as the right to demonstrate is the right of millions of Colombians to work, move freely, and live in tranquility. Here there is a State, here there is authority, and here there is a Government that respects freedoms, enforces the law, and protects the millions of Colombians who rise early every day to work and build the Nation. Firm for the Nation! Long live Christ the King! (A.D.L.E.)
Demonstrators also rejected the restoration of diplomatic relations with Israel and what they described as U.S. interference in Colombia’s affairs.
Tensions mounted after the government signed a decree hours before the marches that changes the rules governing police conduct during public demonstrations. De la Espriella defended the measure as necessary to combat “urban terrorism,” while opposition politicians and social organizations condemned it as an attempt to intimidate protesters.
Senator Cepeda warned that the decree risked returning Colombia to a situation in which fear enabled arbitrary actions by security forces.
“They want to take us back to a time when fear becomes the means through which the security forces act arbitrarily,” Cepeda said.
Trade union sources said organizers were already drawing up a schedule of further mobilizations for the coming months following Wednesday’s mass protests. The campaign could culminate in a general strike in November.
Five students were arrested and two people injured during police confrontations in Madrid on Wednesday, as thousands of teachers and supporters took to the streets on the first day of a regional teachers’ strike demanding better funding, smaller classes and improved working conditions in public education.
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Demonstrators wearing green gathered at Puerta del Sol before marching through central Madrid towards the regional Education Department. The protests targeted the education policies of regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso, whom demonstrators accuse of weakening public schools by diverting taxpayer funds to private education and refusing to negotiate with teachers and parent associations, according to teleSUR correspondent Álvaro Fragua.
Police also confronted students at Madrid’s Complutense University during a demonstration in support of the strike. Two people were taken to hospital with injuries. Five university students and a woman participating in a separate demonstration in central Madrid were arrested. No further arrests had been reported at the time of the report.
Text Reads: 📚 Non-university teachers in the Community of Madrid, Spain, began an indefinite strike this Wednesday—called by trade unions—to demand better working conditions and more resources for quality public education. No end date has been set for the stoppage.
🧑🏫 Their demands include better conditions for teaching staff, increased resources for public education, smaller class sizes, and proper care for all students.
📢 Demonstrations have been organized for the initial days of the strike: a march from Atocha to Puerta del Sol this afternoon and a human chain on Thursday at the Department of Education.
Teachers said educational inequality was reflected in disparities between neighborhoods, arguing that children’s access to quality education depended on where they lived, with poorer communities bearing the greatest burden.
The strikers are demanding changes to class sizes, teaching workloads and specialist support for students with additional educational needs. Their proposals include capping classes at 13 students in early childhood education, 15 in primary school, 20 in secondary school, 23 in upper secondary education and 15 in vocational training.
They also want weekly teaching loads limited to 17 periods for secondary school and vocational training teachers and 22 for primary school teachers. The proposed limits would include tutoring, department leadership and coordination duties.
Improving support for students with disabilities and other educational needs is another central demand. Teachers are calling for at least one guidance counselor for every 250 students, one community services professional at each school, one therapeutic education teacher for every eight students and one speech and language specialist for every 12. They also want a compensatory education teacher at every school and additional staffing guarantees for special education.
On pay, the strikers are seeking a €600 monthly increase in the regional general teaching supplement, along with pay parity for vocational training teachers and specialists in community services, therapeutic education, and speech and language support. They are also demanding a special allowance for hazardous working conditions in special education and at least one full-time administrative assistant at every school.
The demands extend to school infrastructure and workplace safety. Teachers want a comprehensive, sustainable climate-control plan for schools, the removal of asbestos, an end to phased construction of public schools and stronger occupational health and safety measures. They are also calling for an equity plan to ensure adequate support for students facing socioeconomic hardship, those with special educational needs and other vulnerable groups.
Teachers announced a larger demonstration for Wednesday afternoon, with a march planned from Atocha to Puerta del Sol, where people were continuing a protest camp in support of the public education movement. The strike’s first day brought demands for changes to staffing, funding, pay and school conditions alongside opposition to the regional government’s education policies.
Thousands participated in a joint delegation of opposition groups in India who were attempting to meet the Chief Justice (CJI) of the country on Monday, October 12. The delegation sought to raise concerns over the alleged irregularities and fraud in the national and state level elections.
The police and security forces, yet again, tried to block the protesters from marching and used force to disperse them. The CJI refused to meet the delegation claiming the matter was subjudice.
Monday was the tenth consecutive day of the mass protests in the country which broke out on October 2, days after a newspaper report claimed the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar violated rules and took arbitrary decisions on crucial matters related to electoral rolls revisions, or the so-called Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
Opposition parties of diverse ideological backgrounds have accused the CEC of manipulating the elections to help the ruling ultra-right-wing and Hindu-supremacist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to win crucial state elections. and have been demanding Kumar’s removal.
The opposition is also demanding the end of the SIR process and the re-inclusion of over 130 million voters whose names have been removed from the electoral rolls in various states depriving them of their right to vote, a fundamental right in the Indian constitution.
The BJP and CEC Gyanesh Kumar have refuted the charges, claiming the allegations were based on superficial assumptions.
The Indian government suspended all major routes to the capital, Delhi, suspending hundreds of trains on Saturday, October 10, in order to prevent people from reaching the capital to participate in a scheduled protest called by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), a youth movement which emerged earlier this year, and several left groups, over the issue.
The authorities also closed down all major metro stations in the city and imposed sections of the law which disallow any gathering of people, literally shutting down the city.
The security personnel detained thousands of people from various corners of the city, from their homes and even from moving trains and other vehicles to prevent them from participating in the protests.
All members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), including its General Secretary M A Baby and formal Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan, were forcefully detained after they tried to march to the Jantar Mantar, the designated place for the protests.
They were kept in detention for hours before they were finally released in the evening.
Several protesters from the Student Federation of India (SFI), the All India Students Association (AISA), the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), and other student and youth organizations tried to breach the police fortifications.
However, most of them were detained by the police during the effort. They claimed they were beaten up by the security forces, with hundreds of videos circulating on social media showing them being manhandled.
Some journalists also accused the security forces of trying to prevent them from reporting. They claimed they were beaten up and their cameras and mics were broken by the police and thugs belonging to the ruling party.
On Sunday, several young leaders, mostly women, from the left-wing organizations, such as the SFI, AISA, the All India Students Federation (AISF), and some Members of the Parliament (MP) from the left parties, like the CPI (M), and the Communist Party of India (CPI), were injured after the police attacked them during the protests.
The crackdown on protesters has invited strong reactions and solidarity from the International Peoples Assembly (IPA) and several left and progressive forces from across the world.
“India’s youth has risen to defend the right to vote itself” because “if a citizen is quietly erased from the voter list, democracy becomes a facade,” the IPA said in a statement issued on Sunday. It also demanded the end of state repression against the peaceful protesters.
Talking to BreakThrough News, several youth leaders claimed the objective behind the movement against the rigging in elections is a movement to protect democracy and the basic rights of the people.
They asserted that they will not stop until Gyanesh Kumar is sacked and all the irregularities in the election process are corrected. Under the authoritarian administration, manipulation in elections is now eroding the small remaining democratic voice the people have in the country, they said.
They also questioned the authority of the government to block people’s right to protest, claiming the immunity provided to the security forces to attack the students, youth, and opposition party leaders trying to raise their voice against the injustice confirms that the BJP and its leadership has no commitment to democracy.
Mrityunjay, secretary of the Delhi state DYFI said one should not look at alleged irregularities as just affecting the rights of a section of society. In India the right to vote is linked to several social security benefits for poor and working class people. Once they lose their right to vote they may lose crucial welfare benefits.
The fact that the majority of those who have been deleted from the electoral rolls are from poor and working-class communities makes the fight for free and fair elections a fight for social justice and equality.
Rikta, another leader of the DYFI, claimed that the youth movements see the fight against the CEC as a fight to retain faith in the constitution and democratic processes in India. She claimed that the BJP has never believed in democracy and that is the reason they are so indifferent to the popular resistance against their policies so far.
However, the left and democratic forces in the country have decided to go till the end so that the BJP and people like Gyanesh Kumar never dare to manipulate the popular mandate again and learn to respect dissent, Rikta told BreakThrough News.
“Unparalleled and unprecedented” police repression in India, where thousands of protesters demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar were met with mass detentions, internet shutdowns, and a brutal crackdown across Delhi over the weekend. Dr. Nitheesh Narayanan of the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research joins Zoe Alexandra and Rania Khalek, following the deployment of 50,000 police and armed forces to suppress youth-led protests over the Special Intensive Revision’s removal of more than 130 million names from voter rolls.
Narayanan says Saturday’s action marked a turning point in India’s months-long wave of repression, uniting students, the left, and the Gen Z-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) in the fight for a democratic, secular India – “and the idea that it’s the people, not power, who define a country.” He breaks down how Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stacked the committee that appointed Commissioner Kumar, why the SIR disproportionately targets minorities and the poor, and why the outrage and demands for accountability are growing despite the crackdown. And as Trump pushes a unified voter roll in the US, India’s purge could offer a preview of what’s at stake: “Is this democracy, or is it the daylight murder of democracy?”
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