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From mass arrests in France to troop deployments in Italy, European leaders are taking varied approaches to protests and clashes across the continent. The unrest began in France in mid-September with student demonstrations over school conditions, then spread to other countries, where protests have centered on local grievances.

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President Donald Trump has used the unrest to press his hard-line immigration message, blaming France’s protests on immigration and urging the country to close its borders.

PHOTOS SHOW AFTERMATH OF RIOTS AS MASKED GROUPS CLASH WITH POLICE ACROSS FRANCE

French President Emmanuel Macron pushed back, calling foreign leaders’ comments «unacceptable and even stupid» and accusing them of exploiting France’s crisis for political gain.

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Here’s how leaders across Europe are responding.

France vows to make rioters pay as cities assess damage

Demonstrators occupy the sculptures and ledges of the Monument a la Republique in Paris, France, on October 17, 2026. (Aruallan / Hans Lucas /AFP/Getty Images)

Macron has vowed that those who loot or destroy property will be held accountable and made to pay for the damage. French authorities deployed 70,000 police officers nationwide Saturday as demonstrations took place in Paris and other cities.

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Some clashes broke out in several cities, including Paris, Lyon, Lille, Toulouse and Nantes. Police used tear gas, sound grenades and water cannons, and the Interior Ministry reported more than 1,300 arrests.

VIOLENCE ERUPTS AT FRANCE PROTESTS AS MACRON WARNS UNREST IS BEING EXPLOITED

Most union-organized marches were peaceful, though clashes broke out later in Paris and several other cities. Separately, a French intelligence assessment reportedly identified Antifa and other far-left groups as instigators of some of the violence, according to a French outlet.

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Italy takes one of Europe’s toughest lines

Demonstrators light flares during an anti-government protest organized by the Italia in Piazza movement, at Piazza Duomo in Milan, on October 17, 2026. (Piero Cruciatti/AFP/Getty Images)

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned what she called «gangs of thugs» who used demonstrations to «sow chaos,» and voiced support for police facing violence in several Italian cities.

Meloni moved quickly after the previous weekend’s looting and clashes, sending 500 additional soldiers to Milan and approving tougher penalties for minors involved in vandalism. She said destroying and stealing was a crime and that the state’s response would be firm.

The measures put Meloni among the European leaders taking the most visible steps to deter further violence.

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Greek police maintain a visible presence

A protester holds a lit flare and shouts slogans as students, teachers and civil servants take part in a rally to protest against the high cost of living, saying they face the same problems that sparked violent demonstrations in France at the weekend, in Greece on October 21, 2026. (Sakis Mitrolidis/AFP/Getty Images)

While Greece has seen less unrest than France and other European countries, officials have been monitoring the risk of clashes as student and teacher demonstrations spread.

Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis said the right to protest must be respected as long as demonstrations remain lawful, while condemning violence, looting and occupations.

Police still kept a visible presence at demonstrations earlier in the week, which largely passed without major violence.

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Belgium accuses Antifa-linked activists of stoking clashes

A Belgian police officer faces young protesters during clashes near Brussels-South railway station on October 12, 2026. (Nicolas Tucat/AFP/Getty Images)

Belgium’s demonstrations began over education reforms and budget cuts, with young protesters taking to the streets in Brussels and Liège. Earlier clashes injured police, damaged public areas and blocked roads. Nearly 200 people were arrested, according to Belgian officials.

Interior Minister Bernard Quintin accused far-left activists, including people linked to Antifa, of infiltrating demonstrations and encouraging young people to commit violence.

Albania clashes escalate as protesters demand prime minister’s ouster

In Albania’s capital, Tirana, student-led protests have grown into a broader challenge to Prime Minister Edi Rama, with demonstrators demanding his resignation and accusing his government of corruption and neglecting schools and public services.

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US LAWMAKERS SOUND ALARM AS VIOLENCE GRIPS NATO ALLY ALBANIA AMID ANTI-GOVERNMENT PROTESTS

Police used tear gas and water cannons as more than 2,500 officers were deployed. Rama placed chairs outside his government headquarters and invited protesters to talk, but they rejected the gesture.

He said his government would address their concerns and warned that people responsible for violence could face criminal and financial consequences.

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Spanish regional leaders vow consequences after Barcelona riots

In Spain, the unrest was largely concentrated in Barcelona, unlike France, where protests and clashes spread across multiple cities.

Police arrested 128 people in Barcelona after fires, vandalism and looting. Catalonia, the northeastern Spanish region that includes Barcelona, saw its regional president, Salvador Illa, condemn the violence and back the police response.

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Meanwhile, Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni said the city would take legal action against those responsible and warned that parents or guardians could face consequences for damage caused by their children.

Amanda Macias covers the intersection of business, economics and politics, with a focus on how policy decisions shape markets, businesses and American workers.

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europe, politics, france, world, emmanuel macron, world protests

The Trump administration scored a major full-panel victory at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Friday, which ruled that detained illegal immigrants who were never formally admitted into the U. S. are not constitutionally entitled to bond hearings while awaiting deportation.

The ruling comes as the Supreme Court prepares to hear Rhoney v. Barbosa da Cunha this term, a closely related fight over whether the federal mandatory-detention statute applies at all to longtime immigrants arrested inside the country — setting up the possibility that the justices could either undercut Friday’s ruling or strengthen the government’s hand.

The Fifth Circuit answered the constitutional question in Ignacio Sosnava Rodriguez v. Sylvester M. Ortega, finding that three immigrant men detained under the mandatory-detention statute are not entitled to bond hearings under the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. The court held that their years or even decades of residence in the United States, along with ties to the country and their communities, do not create a constitutional right to a bond hearing.

«The Constitution does not entitle them to a bond hearing,» the court wrote.

FEDERAL APPEALS COURT COMPARES TRUMP MIGRANT DETENTION POLICY TO JAPANESE AMERICAN INTERNMENT

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court will consider Rhoney, a case out of the Second Circuit, to determine whether the mandatory-detention law applies to longtime immigrants arrested inside the country in the first place.

At the center of the issue is a 9-2 circuit split over which federal detention law applies to immigrants who entered the country illegally, were never formally admitted and were later arrested by immigration authorities after living in the U.S. for years — sometimes decades after crossing the border.

The Fifth and Eighth Circuits have held that those immigrants remain «applicants for admission» under Section 1225 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, subjecting them to mandatory detention without an ordinary bond hearing while their removal proceedings play out. Nine other federal appeals courts have ruled that Section 1226 applies instead, which provides a path for them to seek release on bond.

The Supreme Court will essentially decide whether immigrants who entered illegally and have lived in the U.S. for years can be subjected to the same mandatory-detention provision that applies to certain immigrants seeking admission into the country.

If the Supreme Court sides with the Second Circuit, Barbosa da Cunha — a Brazilian national who entered the country illegally roughly two decades ago and was detained in 2025 — would have a path to seek release on bond. Such a ruling would likely apply to the three longtime immigrants at the center of Rodriguez as well, substantially undercutting the significance of Friday’s ruling by eliminating the need to answer the constitutional question of whether due process requires a bond hearing.

SUPREME COURT TAKES UP FIGHT OVER TRUMP’S THIRD-COUNTRY ILLEGAL ALIEN DEPORTATION POLICY

Judge Leslie Southwick pointed directly to the looming Supreme Court fight in her dissent.

Should the Supreme Court eventually determine that this court was wrong as to the statute, then the constitutional issue we address here will have far less significance. It certainly has significance at the moment,» Southwick wrote.

But conservative legal experts say Rodriguez could also strengthen the administration’s hand in Rhoney by undercutting one argument against the government’s interpretation of Section 1225: that applying the mandatory-detention provision to longtime residents would raise serious constitutional concerns.

Michael Morley, a constitutional law professor at Florida State University, said Friday’s ruling could influence how the justices approach that question because courts often consider whether a particular reading of federal law would create constitutional problems.

FEDERAL APPEALS COURT DEALS BLOW TO TRUMP DEPORTATION AGENDA

«The Fifth Circuit’s en banc ruling in Rodriguez today takes the next step by holding that such detention would not violate the U.S. Constitution’s Due Process Clause,» Morley said. «This holding may impact the Supreme Court’s reasoning, because an important consideration in disputes over federal laws is whether a particular interpretation would be unconstitutional.»

«If the Court agrees with the Fifth Circuit’s analysis that the Due Process Clause allows such detention, it may be more likely to conclude that federal law permits it, as well, Morley continued.

Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow at Advancing American Freedom, argued that the decision could bolster the administration as the justices prepare to resolve the circuit split.

«I actually think this ruling will help the government in the Rhoney case,» von Spakovsky said, pointing to the Fifth Circuit’s position that the applicable immigration statute does not require bond hearings for immigrants who were never admitted to the United States.

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«There was already a split in the circuit courts on this issue but the Fifth Circuit has consistently held that the applicable immigration statute does not require bond hearings for aliens who were never admitted to the United States,» he said. «I will be surprised if a majority of the Supreme Court disagrees when they ultimately issue a decision in the Rhoney case.»

The Supreme Court has not yet scheduled oral arguments in Rhoney, which it agreed to hear earlier this month.

federal courts, supreme court, immigrant rights, deportation, illegal immigrants, law, constitution, appeals

Entre 410.000 y casi 800.000 personas se movilizaron este sábado en distintas ciudades de Francia, según el gobierno y el sindicato CGT, contra el aumento del costo de vida y en apoyo a los estudiantes de los liceos, en un clima de máxima tensión por los incidentes registrados hace una semana. Las movilizaciones fueron en respuesta a la convocatoria de los chalecos amarillos y agrupaciones estudiantiles, en un clima de máxima tensión tras los incidentes registrados hace una semana.

El gobierno de Emmanuel Macron, que dejará el poder en mayo, intentó evitar nuevos episodios de caos con un masivo despliegue policial y la prohibición de varias manifestaciones. Las protestas fueron en su mayoría pacíficas, pero cuando terminaban hubo disturbios en París, Lyon, Burdeos y otras ciudades. En varios de esos lugares, la policía usó gases lacrimógenos y cañones de agua para dispersar a los manifestantes.

Según el ministro del Interior, Laurent Nuñez, los enfrentamientos entre los manifestantes y la policía dejaron un saldo de casi 1000 detenidos. También se incautaron objetos como bolas de metal, fuegos artificiales y hasta una katana.

París blindado y recorridos cambiados a último momento

En París, Marsella y otras ciudades se autorizaron marchas contra el aumento del costo de vida y en apoyo a los estudiantes que reclaman mejores condiciones en los liceos.

Sin embargo, en la capital, el recorrido de la marcha fue modificado a último momento: en vez de salir de la simbólica plaza de la Bastilla, los manifestantes debieron reunirse en una zona más alejada, cerca de la autopista periférica. Según la prefectura de Policía, marcharon 110.000 personas, y según la CGT, 250.000. Al final de la concentración en la puerta de Vincennes, en el sureste de la ciudad, la policía usó cañones de agua para dispersar a un grupo que le tiraba objetos.

En la capital, el operativo de seguridad incluyó 70.000 agentes, unidades de élite, soldados de la misión Sentinelle, blindados, helicópteros y patrullas en puntos clave.

Las autoridades atribuyeron los disturbios de la semana pasada a “grupúsculos de ultraizquierda” —antifascistas, anarquistas y anarco-autónomos— y a “delincuentes oportunistas”, en su mayoría jóvenes de los suburbios, que aprovecharon para saquear comercios.

Para retomar el control, el gobierno decretó toques de queda nocturnos en barrios de grandes ciudades y prohibió manifestaciones, salvo las solicitadas por actores “legítimos” como los sindicatos.

Reclamos por derechos y denuncias de autoritarismo

Bajo un cielo gris y frío otoñal, miles de personas —en su mayoría jóvenes— marcharon en París con pancartas que decían “Macron, al rincón” y “No esperábamos nada y aun así estamos decepcionados”, mientras se escuchaban cánticos como “Macron renuncia” y “Todo el mundo odia a la policía”.

El comisario de Derechos Humanos del Consejo de Europa, Michael O’Flaherty, pidió a los países europeos afectados por protestas —incluyendo Francia, España, Italia y Albania— que respeten el derecho a manifestarse y prioricen la “desescalada” en los operativos policiales.

Comercios y museos cerrados, y nuevas marchas en el horizonte

El temor a nuevos disturbios llevó a que blindados de la Gendarmería custodiaran el Palacio del Elíseo y la Asamblea Nacional.

Muchos comerciantes protegieron sus locales con tablones, algunos decidieron no abrir y otros se prepararon para defender sus negocios ante posibles saqueos. El sábado pasado, casi 3000 comercios resultaron afectados en todo el país.

Además, museos emblemáticos como el Louvre, Orsay, Picasso y la Ópera de París cerraron de manera excepcional.

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