The tractors rolling into the town of Gela on the southern tip of Europe are flying the Sicilian flag, emblazoned with Medusa, three bent legs and ears of wheat: a reminder of the island's role as a breadbasket since Roman times. But the farmers are not bringing in a harvest. As soaring fuel prices squeeze household budgets and businesses across Europe, cost-of-living pressures are driving unrest and giving fresh momentum to far-right parties ahead of elections next year in countries including France, Italy and Poland.
Parties once considered fringe had already been gaining ground, with voters from motorists in rural France to young men in Germany's former Communist east looking for alternatives. The US-Iran war– which erupted in February and sent energy prices sharply higher– has compounded the challenge for governments already struggling to contain inflation, support growth and rein in spending. In France, demonstrations that began over deteriorating school facilities in Paris' northern suburbs have morphed into some of the country's worst unrest in decades, with shops looted, buildings torched and a 19th-century town hall in Limoges set on fire.
Macron's 'sense of detachment' amid rising living costs and youth 'fears for future' To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site.
Well, quite simply, I find the current cost of living truly terrifying," said Quentin Leviloux, a 21-year-old protester in Nantes. "Just think of people who earn barely the minimum wage, when you look at the cost of food, fuel, and everything else. It’s terrifying how incredibly expensive things have become." Read moreFrance faces reckoning with public order policing after violent protest weekend The European Commission estimates the Iran conflict has cost Europe roughly €100 billion ($112 billion) through disrupted trade and energy markets.
Gas prices have jumped about 140% and diesel prices have doubled. In a weekend address, French President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged the "legitimate demands" of protesters angered by rising living and fuel costs, while condemning those responsible for violence and looting. "We must never confuse them with those who destroyed, vandalised and looted," he said.
Violence has also erupted elsewhere. In the wealthy northern Italian city of Milan, police clashed on Sunday with protesters hurling stones and looting stores during demonstrations over poor public services and rising living costs. In Gela, on Sicily's southern coast, farmers say fuel costs have made operating machinery prohibitively expensive.
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