Europe Is Burning, Trump Points at Immigrants: Others Pay the Price for Political Decay

In front of the burning tourist information office in Lyon on Saturday, a protester stood with the French flag draped over his shoulders. In Limoges, flames tore through the 19th-century city hall. Elsewhere, schools were burning. Hundreds of thousands of people had taken to the streets peacefully, while others looted stores and threw firebombs. 2,400 arrests, hundreds injured. And Donald Trump already knew who was to blame. Immigrants had taken over France, he wrote on Monday, and the borders needed to be shut immediately. French police and authorities, however, were making no such accusations against immigrants. Apparently, you can sit thousands of miles away and still find someone to blame with astonishing speed. The school buildings neglected for decades will have to keep waiting for that kind of brilliance.

French students have been blocking their schools for more than 3 weeks. They're demanding teachers and buildings where learning is actually possible, especially in poorer neighborhoods. When fall break began, the CGT labor union and other protesters joined them. The cost of living is rising, and public services are under increasing pressure. Stores were looted in Paris and Marseille, as well as Bordeaux. In Lyon, the tourist information office went up in flames. President Emmanuel Macron blamed far-left activists for attacks on police and buildings. Looters must pay for the damage, he declared on television Sunday, and those responsible for an attempted attack on the republic would be held accountable. Even after the last arrest, the students' questions remain unanswered.

What's erupting on the streets of France has been sitting under tarps in Madrid for weeks. In Puerta del Sol, people are protesting rents that ordinary working people can barely afford anymore. The protests followed the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen from her apartment. She later died in the hospital. Protest encampments sprang up in other Spanish cities. The minimum wage is €1,221, while an 80-square-meter apartment costs an average of roughly €1,130 a month. Diana Manzanares, a 20-year-old waitress, said nearly her entire paycheck goes toward rent. Her roommate is in the same situation. What is a young woman supposed to think about her future when there's barely anything left to live on after paying for a roof over her head?

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez pushed through measures to make housing more affordable, but lost the parliamentary majority he needed to support them and announced new elections for November. Spain's first general strike in 14 years is scheduled for the same month. In Madrid, elementary and secondary school teachers have been on an indefinite strike since last week, demanding better pay and working conditions. Similar walkouts have taken place elsewhere this year. Barcelona is also protesting housing costs, as are Lisbon and Porto. Behind those tents lies some pretty straightforward math. Election promises don't pay the rent.

Since October 17, Milan has been rocked by serious riots. Stores have been looted, barricades have burned, and police have clashed violently with masked groups. Now 500 soldiers are reportedly being deployed to restore order. Violent clashes have also erupted in Turin and Bologna. What began as protests against skyrocketing living costs has plunged several Italian cities into a serious crisis. The Meloni government is already discussing curfews.

In Italy, inflation has now reached 4.2 percent, compared with 3.8 percent across the eurozone. Under the name "Italia in Piazza," thousands are demanding higher wages and better public services. Jobs and affordable housing are also driving them into the streets. In Turin and Bologna, peaceful marches were followed by violent riots. In Milan, masked rioters looted stores, set property on fire, and clashed with police. Within 2 days, 271 people were arrested there, most of them minors, and 14 security officers were injured. The newly formed "October 17 Movement" announced that it would hold demonstrations in Italian cities every Saturday at 3 p.m. The next gathering is already set.

Europe's unrest becomes particularly revealing wherever political power and private business interests sit uncomfortably close together. In Albania, protesters have been demanding the resignation of Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama for more than a week. School and university students joined the "Flamingo" movement, which is fighting corruption and demanding protections for healthcare and pensions. Its name refers to the flamingos' habitat in an area where Rama's government approved a major luxury development project with ties to Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law. Clashes escalated in Tirana. Rama claimed the protesters had been ideologically influenced and radicalized by Antifa. Apparently, an American enemy can be made to fit Albanian streets, too, if you stretch the idea far enough. Trump has designated Antifa a terrorist organization in the United States. Whether that answers a single corruption allegation remains Rama's little secret.

In neighboring Serbia, students have been protesting corruption for almost 2 years. On October 25, the student-backed electoral list will face the camp of former President Aleksandar Vučić in parliamentary elections, as he seeks to return as prime minister. The 2 sides are running neck and neck, and further violence is feared. Meanwhile, right-wing parties are gaining ground in Germany. France and Italy face decisive elections. Europe is also divided over support for Ukraine, while Trump is accommodating Vladimir Putin and Russia is being blamed for increasingly frequent hybrid attacks in NATO countries.

Many people across Europe are living with enormous uncertainty and the feeling that they've lost control over their own lives. That doesn't excuse arson. But it does explain why so many young people are facing a future they can't afford to enter. Right-wing politics often offers up a more convenient target than the minister responsible: the foreigner. France is showing just how quickly that bill can be presented to the public. The buildings keep burning anyway. And next month's rent will still be due.

More to come, as we have an extensive report planned.