Europe Is Falling: Riots Spread From France And Belgium To Albania

Social unrest in France, Belgium, and now Albania raises the risk of riot contagion across Europe. Young rioters' involvement gives far-left groups opportunities to exploit grievances and channel them into broader anti-government mobilization.

Local outlets are reporting that "thousands of students," a common phrase MSM corporate media outlets have used to describe the rioters, took to the streets of Albania's capital for a second day of anti-government riots on Wednesday. They set fire to part of the education ministry and attacked other government buildings, yet this suggests the unrest has little to do with classroom sizes and more to do with a coordinated far-left anti-government movement sweeping across Europe.

"The people are very angry at the system. They need to change everything. With this corruption all around, the crime and everything else is happening. And the people now are angry. They need to change the system," demonstrator Enida Bimi told Reuters.

We must ask ourselves, in a rational world: Is the solution to a failing education system to burn it down? Well, in the far-left mindset, certaintly.

Deputy Prime Minister Albana Koçiu called for restraint yesterday, saying Albania "does not need to burn to change." Education Minister Mirela Kumbaro said the right to protest did not justify violence against public buildings and property.

Albania's state-run news agency said sixteen people were arrested "in connection with violent acts" during riots earlier this week.

The social unrest is less about education and demonstrates how Europe has a terrible disease of far-left extremism that has infected the youth. High-level State Department officials and their European counterparts discussed this concern last summer.

Europe is embarrassing itself on the world stage yet again. It's not just that the unrest is getting out of hand and spreading; its entire progressive utopia (welfare state) is cracking and now breaking as the end game nears. This warns all Americans that welfare states like France are headed for a fiscal crisis.

https://www.zerohedge.com/poli...-and-belgium-albania

“Chaos hit the streets of France yesterday as violent protesters rebelled against the cost of living, education standards and Emmanuel Macron's government, with police admitting they 'lost control'. 

More than 1,200 demonstrators were arrested as the streets of major French cities were turned into a battleground, with city halls and prefectures set on fire and hundreds of shops looted in 'apocalyptic riots'. 

Desperate business owners and horrified residents could only watch in fear as the mob went door-to-door, smashing their way into each business.
………
Amid the more than 1,200 arrests nationwide, French police admitted they did not have the manpower to cope.
………
President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, were accused of acting like the out-of-touch King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette at the start of the 1789 Revolution.

The Macrons attended a Céline Dion concert on Friday night, and were seen dancing in a private box. …”

https://mol.im/a/16218361

Yeah, some "small groups scuffled" with the police in fiery but mostly peaceful protests.

https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/2111608714629206203

^^^ More info:

https://www.theepochtimes.com/...jr0E4QsqgCBjlBYEw%3D

Chaos and Violence Grip France as Far-Left Mobs Storm City Halls, Torch Streets

Rioters stormed city halls in Marseille and Lille, set Lyon’s tourist office ablaze, looted Paris stores as 550,000 people marched. Police made 1,800 arrests.

PARIS—Stones and fireworks were already flying across Place de la République before Saturday’s demonstration against rising costs had even started. By 1 p.m., hundreds of black-clad militants, many of them with their faces hidden behind masks, were facing off with riot police in the square. It was the start of an afternoon of violence that spread across the capital.

Protesters hurled rocks and fireworks at the police, who fired back with tear gas and water cannons. Shortly after 2 p.m., a car went up in flames in the middle of the square. Bicycles, street furniture and a newspaper kiosk were torched as well, and looters forced their way into a nearby Monoprix supermarket and ransacked it.

Hundreds of demonstrators chanted “Everyone hates the police,” “Revolution,” and “We are all antifascists.” Another chant took aim at the president himself: “Louis XVI: We beheaded him. Macron: We can do it again!”

The trouble soon spilled out of République. Over the course of the afternoon, groups broke away from the authorized march routes and headed for Place de la Madeleine, Place Vendôme, and the Champs-Élysées, where demonstrations had been banned.

According to AFP, police stopped one group a short distance from the Élysée Palace, the official residence of French President Emmanuel Macron. On Boulevard Haussmann, looters broke into the Galeries Lafayette department store, in one of the busiest shopping districts in the city.

Near the Opéra, tourists were caught in clouds of tear gas as police and protesters clashed. Shoppers hurried out of the area, businesses pulled down their metal shutters, and some of the main shopping streets of central Paris came to a standstill.

On social media, Saturday’s protests against the rising cost of living had been billed as the comeback of the Yellow Vests, the movement that began in 2018 as a revolt against fuel taxes and grew into a broader uprising against Macron’s government.

Several of the movement’s best-known figures, though, kept their distance. They accused far-left groups of hijacking the Yellow Vest name for their own political ends.

Benjamin Cauchy, one of the most recognizable faces of the 2018 protests, told radio station Europe 1 that the far-left France Unbowed (LFI) party was using the Yellow Vests “as a Trojan horse” to push its own agenda.

Another veteran of the movement told France 24 she saw “a takeover from all sides by the far left, from the Communist Party to France Unbowed.”

Precursor to Presidential Election

The violence drew strong condemnation from France’s political leadership, with Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu accusing radical left-wing groups of orchestrating attacks across the country.

“Ultra-left groups organized the violence in several cities,” Lecornu wrote on X. He warned those treating the unrest as a rehearsal for the April 2027 presidential election that the government will not back down.

“To those who clearly want to use this violence as a ‘warm-up’ before the presidential election, I say clearly: We will not let ourselves be intimidated,” he said, pledging to move forward with legislation to make rioters pay for the damage they cause.

Macron also promised consequences for those responsible for attacks on government buildings, saying that protesters who had targeted prefectures and looted city halls would be “prosecuted and punished.”

Speaking at an evening press conference, Nuñez said approximately 550,000 people had taken part in 110 demonstrations across France, including 110,000 in Paris. Organizers, led by the CGT trade union and student groups, put the nationwide turnout at about 800,000.

Authorities arrested roughly 1,800 people nationwide.

“We are not dealing with the high school movement,” he said, accusing “the ultra-left and the radical far left” of exploiting the demonstrations to attack police officers, businesses, and public buildings.

At least 60 police officers and gendarmes were injured during the unrest, including two who were taken to hospital unconscious. More than 10,000 officers had been deployed across the country ahead of demonstrations.

Nuñez said authorities would “do everything to find” those responsible for the looting.

City Halls Attacked, Shops Looted

The scenes in Paris were repeated in cities across the country, where groups of rioters targeted municipal buildings, businesses, and police.

In Marseille, several dozen protesters stormed city hall shortly after 1 p.m., forcing open the doors of the building overlooking the Old Port and pouring into its entrance hall.

“This is the Revolution, we’re taking the Bastille,” they shouted as they entered the building, AFP reported. Earlier, rioters had attacked a municipal police station with smoke bombs, according to the local prefecture.

The violence spread through Marseille’s central shopping streets, where dozens of businesses were looted. Bakeries, jewelry stores, and luxury retailers were among the targets, including an Hermès boutique.

In Lyon, masked rioters fired fireworks at police before ransacking and setting fire to an annex of the tourist office on Place Bellecour. The Rhône prefecture said the violence prevented firefighters from reaching the burning building.

In Bordeaux, rioters targeted several public buildings, breaking into the chamber of commerce and ransacking the official residence of the Gironde prefect. Shops in the city center were also looted, prompting authorities to deploy an elite police tactical unit as violence spread.

In Lille, protesters smashed their way through the glass doors of city hall, causing damage inside the building. Several businesses were also ransacked, including the city’s Apple Store, according to the mayor.

In Limoges, an attack on city hall ended in a major fire that spread through one wing of the building and reached the roof. Further incidents of looting were reported in Nantes, Caen, and Valence, underscoring the nationwide reach of the disorder.

On the right, National Rally leaders voiced support for the police and accused the far left of hijacking the demonstrations.

Marine Le Pen, the party’s presidential candidate, said legitimate social grievances had “once again been taken hostage by the far left.” She also accused LFI lawmakers of trying to “precipitate the country into chaos.”

National Rally President Jordan Bardella described Saturday’s unrest as a “convergence of ultra-left terrorism and delinquent populations from the banlieues,” referring to the immigrant suburbs surrounding many French cities.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of LFI and a presidential contender, blamed the police response for the chaos, accusing commanders of allowing the situation to spiral out of control.

“In Paris, the aberrant command opened the door to chaos,” he wrote on X. He also told his supporters they had “no business” taking part in looting.

The Oct. 17 demonstrations marked another escalation in a protest movement that began nearly a month earlier in high schools in the suburbs of Paris.
Protests that began at a handful of schools spread nationwide, fueled by far-left activists.

The toll on security forces and civilians had already been substantial before Saturday’s unrest.

By Oct. 15, Lecornu said 937 police officers and gendarmes had been injured since the movement began, along with 248 students and 149 school staff members.

Just wait, the leftists here are taking note.
I saw dozens if not over a hundred out where they don't belong yesterday.

https://x.com/IsraelWarRoom/st.../2111797530639859918

We call on France to exercise restraint when dispersing the freedom fighters on the streets of Paris. These brave warriors for justice must receive immediate humanitarian aid, and their safety must be guaranteed in accordance with international law. Failure to comply will leave us no choice but to bring a case before the ICJ, in close cooperation with that renowned champion of human rights, Afghanistan.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
We call on France to exercise restraint ....

Delicious. Chew on that, you frog-eaters.

Fwiw. In early 1975 (March?), my group was assigned to extract/relocate a Vietnamese family from middle-of-nowhere to somewhere. Arriving in the mid-late afternoon, we were ready to leave the area when the Lady of the house intensely voiced her objection. If you know Vietnamese ladies, they can be extremely assertive. She wanted us to stay for supper.

The decision was made to acquiesce to her demand. Yes, we knew --- time is of the essence. A handful of rice, a root of some sort, and frog. No, not frog legs --- the whole thing. Btw, tastes like chicken. No, do not eat the skin.

About twenty years ago, I shopped at a Vietnamese market shop here in Florida. Sure enough, they were selling glass jars with three (3) frogs in it. Brought back memories. Thing is, frogs were (are?) a poor man's staple in Vietnam, good people. If you have a Vietnamese friend, ask them. If you have a Vietnamese acquaintance, don't. They might be insulted by your question.

When we initially saw the frog we were taken aback. But we were not going to show disrespect by not eating it.

France Enters "Point Of No Return" As Riots And Chaos Spread

President Trump said, "France is burning!" on Truth Social early this morning, as what appears to be the fall of France quickly unfolds. Consumed by nation-killing Third Worldism through a decade of unfettered mass migration and a cancerous far-left movement, the nation is on a troubling trajectory as its imploding welfare state collides with a fiscal mess.

Riots across France today. Looting, fires, vandalism and attacks against policemen and firefighters reported from cities across the country. https://t.co/ZpVnuXTvC3
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) October 17, 2026

"The immigration of people from an entirely different world, people with hatred in their hearts, has shattered that once great country. Close your Borders and take control, before it is too late!" Trump continued.



Vice President JD Vance responded to the accelerating far-left violence on X, saying, "Western liberals imported the third world into France and other countries in the name of diversity and compassion. They ignored fundamental questions of assimilation and compatibility. They were told it would lead to this and they didn't listen."

The endgame for France is quickly approaching as its generous welfare state can no longer support the influx of migrants and services deteriorate.

Watch:

"Replacing Europe": Undercover Film Follows The Money Behind Europe's Taxpayer-Funded Mass Migration Pipeline



The country has not balanced its budget since the early 1970s, and sovereign credit default swap spreads are widening in a high-rate environment. The current trajectory, as described by right-wing presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, would put the country on a path toward a sovereign debt crisis.

https://www.zerohedge.com/poli...ots-and-chaos-spread

https://youtube.com/shorts/Ih4...?si=XL_RMGkLRbY9PUtY

From the NYPost…

“Firecrackers”…
Odd that they don’t actually show “Firecrackers” being tossed.

There’s a HUGE difference between fireCRACKERS and fireWORKS.
One is irritating
The other will seriously hurt you.

The other thing I find odd is:
Why are the camera angles mostly from behind the Police Lines or close to the Police Lines?

I've seen videos floating around on what's REALLY happening.
It's full on riots. Call out the military riots.

Just wait.if Democrats don't regain 100% control here, we'll see this kind of "unrest".
To punish all those who didn't vote communist.

What a fool! Doubling down on BS!

You’re watching. You’re going to see it. It’s all allowed to happen because those in charge don’t want to go down in history being likened to Hitler. Even the king of England is perfectly fine with having his peasants replaced and the history of one of the greatest nations simply erased. As long as they get their golden parachute and live out their life in luxury they don’t care.

Macron the CLOWN.

“Let Them Eat Cake! Macron Goes to Celine Dion Concert as Paris Burns”

https://www.thegatewaypundit.c...on-goes-celine-dion/

Similar to when FBHO and FHRC went MIA when Amb. Chris Stevens and U.S. soldiers were being brutally murdered and killed in Benghazi.

Italy is burning too.

Here and elsewhere -

“European Chaos Spreads: Now, a Sacred Christian Landmark Has Been Attacked in Italy”

https://redstate.com/kyle-beck...ult-spreads-n2208274

So:

Open borders plus Socialist State = France (and
the rest of Europe) Burning!

I await the Socialist American experiment results in NYC... now a self-described Sanctuary City rapidly moving towards being our Socialist exemplar.

Of course. What took him so long?

https://x.com/TousiTVOfficial/.../2111894507000135745



Both he and his wife should be under the guillotine.

An example of a "leader" so aware of his region of responsibility that he assumes ownership and is able to correctly identify issues and mitigate them ahead of societal unrest. Such competency is truly rare. The french must be proud.

quote:

Originally posted by tleddy:

I await the Socialist American experiment results in NYC.

It wasn't a terrible area to grow up, during the first half of the 20th century, but I'm glad I'm not there now.