International Viewpoint - online socialist magazine

France, October 2026: reasons to believe

Olivier Besancenot, Stéfanie Prezioso — 2026-10-24T07:13:00Z

On 17 October 2026, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across France. Starting with young people and secondary school pupils, the mobilisation brought together other sections of society around the issue of the cost of living, outside the traditional trade union and political structures.
The Macronist government responded with repression on an unprecedented scale: a number of people taken into police custody not seen since the start of the secondary school pupils' movement, (…)

- IVP621 - October 2026 / France, Youth and student movements, Trade unions/workplace organizing

Mass protests of youth and workers spread to Italy

Dave Kellaway — 2026-10-22T11:33:25Z

On the interminable political news and discussion TV programmes here in Italy the pundits are all talking about ‘catching the virus' of the huge protests in the Spanish state and France. Hundreds of thousands of students mobilized on 16 October. Tent protests have sprung up in some city squares and there were minority skirmishes with the police in a few places.
On 17 October students joined the national demonstration against the spiraling cost of living called by the General Confederation (…)

- IVP621 - October 2026 / Italy, Youth and student movements, Trade unions/workplace organizing

Thousands of young people launch a housing protest in Lisbon

Esquerda.net — 2026-10-19T10:35:50Z

A housing encampment was set up in Rossio this Saturday, in response to rising rents, which put the prospect of housing out of reach for young people in Portugal.

- IVP621 - October 2026 / Portugal, Youth and student movements, Public services

Paris calls? Rome answers!

Eliana Como — 2026-10-18T12:13:09Z

Paris calls? Rome answers! This was the announcement made by Maurizio Landini, General Secretary of the CGIL, from the podium in Piazza del Popolo at the end of a major national march. It will be a day of natural solidarity with the students, just as is currently happening in France.

- IVP621 - October 2026 / Italy, France, Youth and student movements

To defend our future, against austerity and repression: everyone in the streets alongside the youth!

Gauche anticapitaliste/SAP Antikapitalisten — 2026-10-13T16:52:22Z

After a scorching and deadly summer for the working classes, the mobilizations for decent, free and democratic education that began in June are back in full force!

- IVP621 - October 2026 / Belgium, Youth and student movements

The start of an unprecedented movement in France

Antoine Larrache, Elsa Collonges — 2026-10-10T07:34:29Z

The day of action on 6 October was exceptional. With over 90 per cent of universities blockaded, according to the Union étudiante, and 1,800 secondary schools blockaded, according to the Union syndicale lycéenne, the movement is, from the outset, stronger than the 2006 movement against the CPE – the last major, successful youth movement. The future of this movement is perhaps even more significant.

- IVP621 - October 2026 / France, Youth and student movements

Morocco's Elections in a Time of Despotism: Why Ballot Boxes Don't Produce Liberation

Jawad Moustakbal — 2026-10-04T14:34:06Z

“Today, I believe that Morocco is experiencing a form of political insanity in the Einsteinian sense. The elections on September 23 showcased the same familiar faces that have worn thin on the Moroccan public, accompanied by the same broken promises and poorly executed theatrics. Furthermore, it is the Ministry of the Interior that oversees the entire electoral process—from drawing constituency maps to organising the vote itself. ”

- IVP621 - October 2026 / Morocco, Youth and student movements

Nuñez, Geffray, resign! They are the ones wreaking havoc.

NPA-l'Anticapitaliste (NPA-A) — 2026-10-01T14:14:44Z

Secondary school pupils are taking action; the government is cracking down. The situation in the national education system has been deteriorating for years. Successive governments and various ministers, led by Blanquer [Minister of Education 2017-2022], have accelerated the destruction. The lack of resources is becoming increasingly unbearable.

- IVP621 - October 2026 / France, Youth and student movements

How the 1976 uprisings led to the people's education movement of the mid-1980s in Soweto

Terri Maggott — 2026-08-24T15:11:19Z

Fifty years ago, the student uprisings of June 1976 radically altered the terrain of the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa. They laid the foundations for the mass resistance of the mid-1980s, as they opened up new possibilities for solidarity between students, workers, parents, and teachers, and galvanised nationwide resistance beyond Soweto. Until today, the events of June 1976 remain a global symbol of resistance to apartheid and genocide beyond South Africa.

- IVP619 - August 2026 / Youth and student movements, South Africa

“This mobilization has awakened something in the youth”

Evelyne Wyns — 2026-07-19T10:11:10Z

This spring, French-speaking Belgium has seen a sudden acceleration of struggles in the education sector, which have turned into a general revolt of young people. In this interview, Evelyne Wyns discusses the conditions in which this movement emerged, the complex role of trade unions and self-organized collectives, and the politicization brought about by repression.

- IVP618 - July 2026 / Belgium, Youth and student movements, Public services