Cost of living protests sweep Portugal and France as violence flares

Trade unions and housing rights movements staged demonstrations across Portugal on Saturday as cost of living protests swept parts of Europe, Euronews reported. The actions coincided with major demonstrations in France on Saturday that turned violent as protesters clashed with riot police. [1]

In Portugal, housing rights groups joined trade unions affiliated with the CGTP union federation, Euronews said. Protesters gathered under slogans calling for higher wages, better pensions, public services, and lower costs of living. Rallies were planned in Lisbon, Porto, and Coimbra. [1]

The European protests are driven by surging prices, fuel costs, and shortages of affordable housing, Euronews reported. As FTMQ News reported earlier, French authorities heightened security measures across the country on 17 October ahead of hundreds of planned actions involving unions, student groups, and yellow vest activists. [1][8]

The yellow vests movement originally began as populist weekly protests in France in November 2018. Portugal joined the European Union in 1986, and its GDP per capita of 31,100 euros remains below the bloc average. [4][6]