The protests that started in France have spread to Italy, Albania and other countries as more groups have joined. Organizers have called for continued action through the end of the month.

The student unrest that began in France has crossed into Italy and Albania. In France, more than 6,500 people, most of them minors, had been arrested by October 7. In Belgium, rioters destroyed buses and fought police in Brussels. Now protesters in Milan and Tirana are throwing stones at police under the same banner of education and the cost of living.

Italy’s wave began on October 5, when students occupied high schools in Turin and Rome under the slogan “Let’s do as in France.” By October 15, dozens of schools were occupied from Milan to Naples. In Turin, about 40 masked youths raided three schools, and a 17-year-old was arrested after a carabiniere was injured. Torino Cronaca reported that a 20-year-old detained in Turin belonged to “Seconda generazione,” a collective whose members describe themselves as born and raised in Italy to migrant parents. It also reported that a minor arrested by carabinieri was not a student.

During the national “No Meloni Day” strike on October 16, the left-wing collective Osa claimed 400,000 students marched nationwide. In Turin, protesters threw stones and bottles at police. The Questura reported three minors arrested for aggravated resistance, two of them carrying pepper spray and one carrying stones, and said more than 50 protesters had been identified. In Rome, hooded protesters threw firecrackers and paper bombs at the Education Ministry, and high school students burned U.S. and Israeli flags. Investigators are examining the involvement of organized antagonists from outside the student movement who allegedly provoked the clashes. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni asked the opposition to condemn the violence.

On October 17, the violence reached the center of Milan. A cost-of-living march of about 5,000 participants, nearly all very young, turned into riots around Piazza del Duomo. Rioters threw stones, café tables and chairs at police, set a portable toilet on fire, and attacked and looted shops. Police used tear gas and water cannons and arrested 50 people. Il Giornale reported the rioters were not black bloc but kids from the city’s outskirts, some waving the Albanian flag in support of the uprising in Tirana. Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini called them cowards and criminals. In Bologna, police used a water cannon and made seven arrests. Local reports described the masked group that broke away toward the train station as “maranza,” Italian slang for street youths, often of migrant background.

In Albania itself, thousands of student-led protesters clashed with riot police in Tirana for a third consecutive day on October 15, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama. Protesters threw rocks and bricks, smashed windows and set fires, including a blaze at the Education Ministry. Police responded with tear gas and water cannons. Demonstrations spread to other cities, and parliament canceled its session as violence erupted nearby. State Police Director General Skënder Hita said 71 officers had been injured in 72 hours, including the Shkodra police chief, who was seriously hurt and is now stable. The Health Ministry reported 89 injured, including 61 police officers, in the October 14 riots alone. Police reported 65 arrests by that point. The protests continued for a fourth day on October 16.

The students have joined the broader Flamingo movement, which began in opposition to a luxury coastal development linked to Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law. Reuters found no evidence of wrongdoing by Kushner. The protests have grown to include anger over alleged government corruption, education costs and poor job prospects. Rama told Reuters he would not resign and was ready to discuss education, adding that Albania is tackling corruption as never before and that he would not let violence derail its European future. On October 16, he blamed foreign hands, saying this was not a student phenomenon. The EU delegation in Tirana called for a proportionate response from authorities and described constructive dialogue as the only way forward.

The unrest has also reached Germany. On October 12, about 150 students barricaded the entrances of Berlin’s French Gymnasium with pallets and bicycle locks, and police pushed them back when they tried to block a third entrance. Police said they considered it a planned action, not a spontaneous one. On October 16, blockades spread to the Andreas Gymnasium and the Leibniz Gymnasium. According to police, about 50 students blocked the entrances at the Andreas Gymnasium, demanding more money for education and opposing military conscription. A second group of about 50 young people gathered behind the school, most of whom did not attend the school. The Tagesspiegel reported that left-wing activists from outside the school took part, some of them masked.

A 67-year-old resident was injured when she tried to stop youths from taking garbage bins from a waste area. Police detained a 17-year-old who was not a student at the school and opened investigations for breach of the peace, assault, attacks on officers and property damage. Berlin’s education senator criticized the protesters for instrumentalizing students. The German outlet NIUS reported that groups on social media are calling for nationwide riots on October 31.

The unrest is likely to expand. In Italy, Osa has announced it will join a general strike on October 30 and a European student strike on November 20.