We are currently experiencing a wave of protests across Europe and beyond. Many have been dubbed “Gen Z protests”, with young people aged roughly 13 to 29 leading demonstrations over issues that particularly affect their generation. In France, protests started several weeks ago over deteriorating conditions in severely underfunded schools.
They have been growing in strength, with between half a million and 800,000 protesters reportedly taking part in them across the country last weekend. In India, the Cockroach movement has emerged as the strongest challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s increasingly authoritarian leadership. Last week, its leader was arrested as anger grew over the removal of more than 130 million names from electoral rolls.
In Spain, anger has arisen over a broken housing system and laws that fail to protect households against eviction. First there was the forcible eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal. Then parliament voted down widely popular legislation that would protect households against evictions, prompting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to call snap elections.
Maricarmen died two weeks after her eviction. While the context in each country is different, grievances over inequality are at the centre of the current protest wave. This inequality has two aspects.
One is about class and one is about generation. Across Europe, inequality has increased significantly since the 2008 crisis. This can be seen in growing income inequality and spiralling wealth inequality.
The effect on people’s lives is worsened by the erosion of the once-proud European welfare states. High-quality public services for all were once meant to offer a guaranteed minimum standard of living and a meritocracy in which everyone had the chance to succeed. But years of austerity have eroded the state’s capacity to deliver good education, healthcare, social care and other services.
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