School grievances, housing costs and political disputes fuel riots across the globe

In the United States, a localized confrontation occurred outside NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and wounded a man in New York’s Marble Hill neighborhood Oct. 8.

But while demonstrators clashed with police outside the hospital, where at least five people were arrested, the discord in New York highlights the relative calm in the weeks before a major midterm election in which President Donald Trump threatens extreme measures to cheat.

Protests over deteriorating schools, rising living costs and disputed election procedures are putting pressure on governments across several countries, with some demonstrations escalating into violent clashes and mass detentions.

No such reactions have erupted in the US, even after Trump insisted that state lawmakers revise congressional district maps to create more GOP advantages, threatened to send armed troops and use postal offices to interfere with balloting, and expressed regret that he did not seize election machines after his defeat in the 2020 presidential election.

While US antagonists have not been completely quiet, American events have been devoid of the violence that erupted elsewhere around the world.

Protesters took to the streets of San Antonio’s East Side on Saturday morning, marching against plans to convert a massive warehouse into a federal immigration detention facility that could house approximately 1,500 people. Five people were arrested a month ago during an anti-ICE protest in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Cornell students took to a campus plaza six days ago to protest the university’s response to allegations of sexual assault at a fraternity house, and the school’s main administration building was splashed with graffiti and damaged overnight.

That is a marked contrast with global disorder.

In France, students demanding better classroom conditions have drawn parents, teachers and unions into a nationwide movement. Belgian demonstrators are challenging austerity measures, while protesters in Spain are demanding relief from soaring housing costs. In India, opposition groups are confronting authorities over revisions to voter lists.

The demonstrations have taken different forms, from peaceful marches and school blockades to confrontations involving fires, thrown projectiles and police crowd-control weapons.

France’s Interior Ministry reported that about 266,000 people demonstrated Oct. 6, including 56,000 in Paris. Police detained nearly 500 people that day. More than 6,500 arrests, mostly involving minors, had been recorded during the preceding weeks of school blockades and class boycotts, according to The Associated Press. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez defended the police response as proportionate in almost all cases, while Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu urged officials to address students’ concerns.

Students describe overcrowded classrooms, absent teachers and inadequate facilities. A government consultation also identified long school days, insufficient lunch breaks and poor ventilation as prominent complaints. The movement has drawn support across schools serving different economic backgrounds, with student organizations pressing for emergency education spending.

In Belgium, police estimated that about 30,000 people attended an anti-austerity rally in Brussels on Oct. 9; organizers put attendance at 50,000. The union march proceeded peacefully, but masked individuals near the central railway station threw rocks and firecrackers and set fires. Police responded with tear gas, water cannons and baton charges.

Police and union leaders said those responsible for the violence were separate from the main rally. Earlier student unrest in Liège resulted in more than 200 arrests, according to AP.

In India, authorities detained more than 2,000 people in New Delhi on Oct. 10, a Home Ministry official told Reuters. Security forces sealed off a planned protest site before a rally organized by the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party.

Demonstrators seek the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that revisions to electoral lists favor Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party. The United Nations human rights office expressed concern about the mass detentions; India rejected its criticism as interference.

Opposition groups continued their campaign Monday with a march toward the Supreme Court. The Election Commission denies favoritism and says eligible voters mistakenly removed from the rolls can re-enroll. The BJP accuses its opponents of undermining democratic institutions.

In Spain, tens of thousands demonstrated Oct. 3 over housing shortages, rising rents and evictions. Protests took place in 50 cities, with about 70,000 people gathering in Madrid, Reuters reported. Police used tear gas and rubber bullets during clashes in Valencia. Tenant advocates have sought stronger protections and discussed organizing a general strike.

Brazil’s demonstrations have centered on the presidential election. Thousands joined a student march in Rio de Janeiro on Oct. 7 against the prospect of another Bolsonaro presidency.

Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro received about 47% of the first-round vote Oct. 4, compared with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s 45%. They face an Oct. 25 runoff. Both candidates sought support in São Paulo on Sunday as campaigning intensified.

Economic grievances have also driven earlier unrest elsewhere. Kenya’s youth-led protests forced President William Ruto to withdraw proposed tax increases in June 2024. Kazakhstan’s fuel-price demonstrations began in January 2022. Those episodes provide historical context but should be distinguished from the demonstrations reported this month.