In Europe, a wave of strikes and protests have erupted, led by students, youth, and workers. As of the writing of this article, major demonstrations have taken place in Albania, Belgium, Czechia, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Serbia, and Spain. The protests encompass a wide range of grievances, but the main driving forces remain the cost of living, deteriorating conditions in schools, and the toll of imperialist wars on the workers across the continent and abroad. Youth in Germany are resisting the reintroduction of conscription that would draw thousands of young people into the Bundeswehr, set to be mobilized in the largest military buildup since World War II against Russia.
Investment in wars and cuts to social services and education are facets of the same policy, emerging from crises in capitalism and the interests of the capitalist class. As the cost of living in these countries skyrockets, kindled by wars increasing the prices of oil and gas, people are unable to pay rent and are forced from their homes.
On October 7th, 2026, Maria del Carmen Abascal, 87, died weeks after being forcibly removed on a stretcher from her apartment, where she had resided for more than 70 years.
In an outcry against this senseless murder of an elderly person, the Madrid Tenants’ Union established an encampment in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol square, and on 11 November thousands of people marched through the streets of Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia, declaring that “Madrid will be the tomb of rentism!” As a response to the ongoing protests, the police, acting in their capacity as defenders of capitalist private property, have violently repressed and assaulted people, some of whom are as young as 14.
Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni announced that new beds would be added to detention facilities and new juvenile judges would be appointed for the more than 30 minors arrested on October 20. While Meloni’s police, President Trump and Marine Le Pen insist on the unrest being caused by immigration, France’s Emmanuel Macron condemned the people (including minors, slandered as “delinquents”) of his country who dared to act against the interests of its bourgeois democracy, calling the uprisings “illegitimate”.
In addition to the mass mobilization in the streets of major cities, strikes have been planned and carried out in several countries. Some of these strikes and walkouts, like the 24-hour railway workers’ walkout on November 11 in Spain or the further strikes planned for November 17 and 23, are tied to both the housing crisis and demands for worker safety after two fatal crashes this year killed 115 people. Others, like the actions led by dockworkers last month in Italy, France, Turkey, Morocco, and Spain, have explicitly set their focus on the US and Israel’s imperialist war against Iran and called for an end to the genocide and occupation of Palestine in their demands.
It is the work of communists to harness these mass movements and lead them to victory for the workers around the world. The international youth strike planned for November 20 must carry forward the momentum that we see across the continent, and be utilized to agitate and educate masses of youth and workers who can plainly see the devastation being wrought upon them and the nations targeted by imperialism for the sake of capitalist domination. Limited to a single day, these actions will incur minimal disruption upon global supply chains- while they are encouraging to see, we can and should unite and use our collective power to push for more organized action. Only the working people of the world have the power to upend the wage labor system, stop the US and Israel’s massacres in Gaza and Iran, and create a world where quality education and housing is guaranteed to every person.
Https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/articles/italys-meloni-approves-toughermeasures-191541665.html
Https://www.dw.com/en/german-high-school-students-protest-against-military-service/a-76236452