Massive protests are sweeping Europe on Saturday as part of demonstrations driven by the cost of living and deficient public services, with police bracing for potential violence after recent looting and riots.
asserted
police → sweep → looting
Germany, France, Spain and Italy are among the nations facing demonstrations on Halloween following a recent wave of Gen Z-led marches across the continent.
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Germany → face → continent
French officials said they would deploy 70,000 police on Saturday following some of the worst rioting in decades, which erupted in cities across the country after student protests about the state of education evolved into wider demonstrations about the cost of living and social security.
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protests → say → living
As the demonstrations began Saturday afternoon in Paris, protesters were pictured holding a banner that read: “We do not need tear gas for our future to be blurry.”
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future → begin → gas
Videos vetted by NBC News show large crowds and fires burning in Marseille.
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crowds → vet → Marseille
Some 320,000 people demonstrated across France on Saturday, including 70,000 in Paris, according to the French Interior Ministry.
uncertain
people → demonstrate → Ministry
Authorities reported 296 arrests as of 6 p.m. local time.
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Authorities → report → p.m.
While the protests have been largely peaceful, police arrested 1,300 people last week after an estimated 410,000 took to the streets in cities across the country.
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410,000 → arrest → country
Stores, public buildings and businesses have also been damaged since the protests erupted last month.
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protests → damage → ?
“Everyone is on deck to ensure an extremely firm response to any trouble,” Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told a news conference earlier this week as he set out security arrangements, adding there was “a very high risk” of unrest.
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he → ensure → unrest
Measures introduced last week to protect shops would be reinforced, he said, and demonstrations would not be permitted “in city centers, where there is a risk of public disorder.”
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demonstrations → introduce → disorder
The U.S. Embassy in France has advised travelers to avoid areas where demonstrations or large gatherings are planned.
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demonstrations → advise → areas
The protests in France began after Prime Minister Emmanuel Macron launched budget talks for 2027.
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Macron → begin → 2027
Students in the country angry over a declining education system and the high cost of living, then took to the streets.
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Students → decline → streets
They were later joined by unions and the Yellow Vests, a grassroots movement that emerged in 2018 as a revolt against fuel taxes.
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that → join → taxes
Those demonstrations appear to have inspired similar protests across the continent, with protests erupting in Belgium, Spain, Italy and elsewhere.
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protests → appear → Belgium
More than 160,000 people in Germany are expected to join demonstrations organized by the campaign group Gen Z regelt (Gen Z takes charge) in 34 cities on Saturday, including the capital Berlin and the financial hub Frankfurt.
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Z → expect → capital
The groups demand spending on schools, climate protection and housing, and are against plans to return to mandatory military service.
“We all have those images from France in our minds — looting, burning houses, burning police vehicles, and attacks on police officers,” said Roman Poseck, interior minister for the state of Hesse, whose capital is Frankfurt.
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capital → demand → Hesse
Protesters gathered in front of Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, as police said an additional 1,500 officers would be deployed throughout the city.
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officers → gather → city
Elsewhere in Europe, a huge encampment of tents has occupied a square in Madrid since late last month, and thousands of people in Portugal have taken to the streets in the city of Lisbon.
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thousands → occupy → Lisbon
Tear gas and water cannons were also used on black-clad protesters in Brussels.
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gas → use → Brussels
In the United Kingdom, hundreds of demonstrators are expected to gather outside the U.S. Embassy in London on Saturday and risk arrest in support of Palestine Action, a protest group banned by the British government.
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hundreds → expect → government
In Serbia, student-led activism also helped unseat the country’s long-time leader at the ballot box.
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activism → lead → box
In Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government also said it would deploy 500 army troops alongside the police in Milan until the end of the year after groups of masked protesters looted stores in the fashion capital and elsewhere and threw projectiles at police earlier this month.
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groups → say → police
Tens of thousands of people again took to the streets of Rome on Friday and other cities and towns across the country.
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thousands → take → country
The demonstrations were largely peaceful, but an NBC News crew saw police use a water cannon on protesters and groups of police charging to disperse protesters.
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police → see → protesters
“We have been completely screwed by the fact that the wages do not keep up on inflation and the wages in general do not keep up with the cost of living,” said Luca, a 20-year-old medical student who asked to have his last name withheld out of fear of repercussions from law enforcement.
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name → screw → enforcement
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