Opposition lawmakers in Albania disrupted a parliamentary session on Thursday by setting off flares that filled the chamber with colored smoke, marking an escalation following weeks of student-led anti-government protests.
Members of the main opposition Democratic Party also blocked access to the podium during a vote on a central bank bill, Reuters reported.
"These ruling lawmakers are criminals, and they deserve tear gas, rubber bullets, cracked skulls, and broken bones—not the young people," opposition leader Sali Berisha declared during a speech before his microphone was cut off.
As the chamber devolved into chaos, fellow opposition members surrounded Berisha, holding blue flares, the official color of their party, and displaying images of protesters injured by police rubber bullets.
Albania has been gripped in recent weeks by student-led demonstrations demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama over alleged government corruption, underfunded schools, widespread unemployment, and a lack of economic opportunities.
The protests began on Oct. 13 and quickly turned violent as demonstrators clashed with police and set fire to government buildings. Protesters also targeted Rama’s ruling Socialist Party headquarters in Tirana, clashing with riot police deployed to protect the property.
The unrest has since spread to several other cities across the country.
In response, Rama, who has governed since 2013 and secured a fourth term last year, blamed "foreign hands who do not want Albania in the European Union. " He accused outside forces of manipulating the movement, claiming they "represent organized crime rather than students. "
To curb the violence, Rama introduced strict new measures, including $6,000 fines for anyone participating in a protest that turns violent, regardless of whether they personally commit acts of violence.
Serbia’s longtime leader, President Aleksandar Vucic, conceded defeat Sunday to the student-led opposition in an election that sent shock waves throughout Europe and the Western Balkans.
"We do not have the final results yet, and many people will be surprised. Based on a stratified sample, it is clear that we have lost these elections. The student-led protest list has won," Vucic said in an address to the nation Sunday night.
The Student List victory brings an end to 14 years of Vucic and his Serbian Progressive Party rule, in what many are saying is the biggest political shake-up in the Balkans since the toppling of Yugoslav dictator Slobodan Milosevic in 2000.
Observers say the Student List party's policies remain vague, which has some worried about Serbia's future.
Ana Brnabic, vice president of the main Board of the Serbian Progressive Party, told Fox News Digital that, "The election victory of the Student List recalls similar electoral triumphs in other countries. The Student List represents a classical anti-establishment movement: it had neither a program nor a coherent political ideology. In an essentially anarchic fashion, it opposed everything, claiming to fight for justice and against corruption."
She added, "After 14 years of Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) rule, people may have wanted change. That is understandable and logical. But the grim consequences of this movement in power will soon become apparent."
Turnout reached 69 %, the highest this century, with more than 4.4 million people casting their ballots, according to Rasa Nedeljkov, head of the CRTA Election Observation Mission.
"This is by all means a historic victory and indeed a surprise to many. While it was clear from the beginning that the students will have an impressive result, very few expected a landslide," Helena Ivanov, associate fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital.
The Election Observation Mission reported that the Student List won 52.45 % of the vote and is projected to hold 138 of 250 seats in the National Assembly, an absolute majority, allowing it to form a government on its own.
Vucic won 39.2 % and is projected to hold 103 seats.
Supporters celebrated throughout Belgrade and across Serbia as it became clear the Student List won by a larger margin that caught many experts and observers by surprise.
Many claimed they were concerned about the possibility of violence escalating as polls began to close. Almost two hours after polling stations closed, Vucic addressed the nation, confirming his defeat and announcing the peaceful transfer of power.
"The path to an electoral victory with such a decisive margin will undoubtedly earn its own chapter in the handbooks on how to topple an autocrat. Two years of unprecedented grassroots mobilization, creative organization and impeccable campaigning kept the student list two steps ahead of the regime. Vučić was left playing catch-up, and all his attempts to co-opt, demoralize and fragment the movement failed," Sinisa Vukovic, director of the Global Policy Program at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, told Fox News Digital.
The CRTA Election Observation Mission reported that the campaign was marked by the abuse of state resources, pressure on candidates and voters, attempts to bring the media under total government control, and attacks on independent election observers.
Tens of thousands of Serbians volunteered to run and monitor polling stations across the country, and the vote was mostly peaceful.
Student led protests marched in the streets for two years after the deaths of 16 people following the collapse of a railway station in the town of Novi Sad in November 2024. People had taken to the streets, demanding justice for those killed and accountability for anyone responsible for the disaster.
The momentum of nearly two years of street demonstrations culminated in a nationwide movement ready for change. The political novices were able to rally the nation behind a simple message against corruption and state capture.
Serbs across the country embraced the Student List, who are viewed as fresh faces in politics and are not tied to Serbia’s traditional political opposition, which is perceived as ineffective and corrupt by a lot of the voters.
Milos Jevtic, a 48-year-old professor with the Faculty of Organizational Sciences at the University of Belgrade, was among the many Student List candidates who won a seat in parliament.
Jevtic told Fox News Digital that their victory came from the values that the students have stood for from the very beginning: expertise, professionalism, responsibility, solidarity and unity.
"What is particularly important is that the students have never compromised on these values and principles. Of course, widespread public dissatisfaction also played a major role, along with a lack of trust in both the current regime and the opposition parties," Jevtic explained.
Jevtic said he believes the priorities for the new Student List-run government should be economic stability, fighting corruption, establishing the rule of law and strengthening institutions, much of what carried the student-led protests since 2024.
"The ultimate goal is to build a system in which institutions function in the interests of all citizens," Jevtic said.
On foreign policy, there is an expectation that there will be a certain degree of continuity with the Vucic administration in international relations, including maintaining good relations with neighboring European countries and all major international partners.
But Brnabic warned that "Serbia has lost meaningful political pluralism. After 35 years of a multiparty system, the country is effectively left with one established political party, SNS, while the rest of the political scene is dominated by largely unknown movements without a clear ideology. This is catastrophic for any parliamentary democracy."
She added, "Secondly, nobody in Serbia knows where the country is heading. Are we firmly pro-EU? Will we maintain our ties with Russia? What about China? Will we continue to enhance our relations with the United States — which was a priority of Aleksandar Vucic? Will economic policy be more left-liberal or conservative? Are we heading towards a woke liberal society, or will we preserve our traditional Orthodox Christian values? There are no clear answers to any of these questions."
She concluded by noting, "We have also called for Parliament and all state institutions to be constituted as soon as possible, so that the country has functioning institutions on which people can rely. We will be a strong but constructive opposition. We call on the Student List’s representatives to end the intimidation and assume the responsibility entrusted to them by the voters."
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.
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.
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.
Here’s how leaders across Europe are responding.
France vows to make rioters pay as cities assess damage
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.
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.
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.
Italy takes one of Europe's toughest lines
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.
Greek police maintain a visible presence
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.
Belgium accuses Antifa-linked activists of stoking clashes
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.
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.
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.
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.
Nearly 1,000 peoplewere arrested Saturday as nationwide protests resumed, French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told reporters.
The unrest has spread beyond France, with violent clashes breaking out in Rome and Albania's capital of Tiranë, where demonstrators set government buildings on fire.
President Donald Trump also weighed in Saturday, pointing to the turmoil in France as a warning about what he said could happen in the United States under left-wing leadership.
Earlier in the day, police officers preemptively searched protesters andarrested people suspected of carrying potential weapons, including fireworks and ball bearings, Reuters reported.
Nuñez did not specify where the arrests were made.
In Paris, where police estimated 110,000 people marched, officers conducted more than 3,000 checks and arrested 65 people, the BBC reported.
The French Interior Ministry said about 410,000 people participated in protests nationwide, while union organizers estimated attendance at 800,000. In Paris, union organizers put turnout at 250,000, compared with the police estimate of 110,000, according to CBS News.
"Violent individuals have no place in the marches," the Paris Police Department said in a social media post. "The objective is clear: to prevent troublemakers from joining the procession, and to ensure the safety of the demonstrators."
Central Paris resembled a city under lockdown as shopkeepers boarded up storefronts, museums closed and more than 20 metro stations suspended service.
In other cities — including Clermont-Ferrand, Grenoble, Lille and Nice — police have resorted to firing tear gas to break up unruly crowds, Reuters reported.
Also in Nice, police used a water cannon to disperse a group of demonstrators who refused to pull back. And in Marseille and Lyon, there have been clashes between police officers and hooded youths.
The unrest also reached Italy on Saturday, where police deployed a water cannon against protesters in Rome as demonstrations over rising living costs and war turned violent. Reuters footage showed riot police confronting demonstrators before a water cannon vehicle approached and sprayed water toward the crowd.
Violence was also reported in Turin and Bologna, where demonstrators confronted police, while protests in Milan remained largely peaceful, according to Reuters. Italian authorities increased security after widespread rioting and looting the previous weekend.
In Albania, riot police fired water cannons at protesters in Tirana, where some demonstrators set government buildings ablaze and threw projectiles at officers. High school and university students have been demanding lower tuition fees, greater investment in education and an end to corruption in the education system.
Some protesters have joined a broader anti-government movement calling for the resignation of Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama. Rama said Saturday that his government was preparing a response to students' demands and called for dialogue, while warning that violent protesters would face penalties, according to The Associated Press.
Trump pointed to the unrest in France while speaking to reporters Saturday after casting his early-voting ballot for the 2026 midterm elections in West Palm Beach, Florida. The president criticized the country's previous leadership and argued that similar unrest could unfold in the U.S. under left-wing leadership.
"Just two years ago, we were laughed at. We were a stupid country. We were a country led by idiots and morons and bad people and radical left people. ... Just take a look at France because that's what they'd like to have for our country, and I don't let that happen."
Some 70,000 police officers have been deployed across France to clamp down on agitators and prevent the kind of unrest seen during recent demonstrations, when cars were torched and the city hall building in Limoges was set on fire.
Last weekend, more than 2,700 people were arrested during protests that later turned into riots and looting sprees.
The nationwide marches were meant to reflect broader dissatisfaction with the French government, with protesters taking to the streets to air a range of different grievances.
The movement gained momentum when major labor unions joined the demonstrations, broadening the protests to include opposition to the government's austerity policies and concerns over wages, pensions and the overall cost of living.
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