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By:

Rajiv Shah

22 September 2025 at 8:32:23 pm

What Is Driving Europe’s Unrest?

Images of destruction can overshadow the grievances that brought people onto the streets. France has seen hundreds of thousands take to the streets. While most protests have been peaceful, some groups have engaged in arson, vandalism and looting. Belgium has seen its own confrontations, while grievances over housing, education, wages, energy prices and public services are surfacing across Europe. What links these protests is the convergence of different grievances. In France, student anger...

What Is Driving Europe’s Unrest?

Images of destruction can overshadow the grievances that brought people onto the streets. France has seen hundreds of thousands take to the streets. While most protests have been peaceful, some groups have engaged in arson, vandalism and looting. Belgium has seen its own confrontations, while grievances over housing, education, wages, energy prices and public services are surfacing across Europe. What links these protests is the convergence of different grievances. In France, student anger over teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms and deteriorating facilities helped spark protests that drew in teachers, workers and trade unions. Concerns soon widened to inflation, housing, fuel prices, pensions, declining public services and distrust of government. In Belgium, education reforms, austerity and rising higher education costs have fuelled student anger, merging with wider discontent. Across Europe, accumulated grievances are finding a common outlet in street protests. The Roots of Anger For years, Europeans counted on affordable education, reliable public services and a better future for the next generation. That confidence is fading. Rising energy bills, housing and education costs, and job insecurity are straining households, while indebted governments struggle to fund healthcare, pensions, defence and welfare. Despite their wealth, many Europeans feel insecure as the opportunities and safety nets they once took for granted weaken. Immigration and Identity The unrest cannot simply be labelled an immigrant or religious uprising, nor can all protest violence be blamed on migrants. But immigration and integration remain part of the debate. Migration, asylum, national identity and religion have long divided European opinion. Questions about how many newcomer countries can integrate, the demands placed on migrants and the sustainability of welfare systems remain contentious. Economic pressures over jobs, housing and public services can deepen these tensions. Critics of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen argue that permissive migration policies have weakened borders and strained public services. The Commission points to tighter screening, border procedures and returns under the EU’s new migration framework. The unrest could intensify calls for stricter migration policies across Europe. Who Leads the Protest? Social media can turn a local grievance into a mass protest within hours, without a political party or formal leadership. Peaceful demonstrations can be disrupted by extremists, agitators or opportunistic criminals, shifting attention from the original demands to violence and looting. Images of destruction can overshadow the grievances that brought people onto the streets. Governments then face a difficult question: who speaks for a leaderless crowd? Unlike trade unions or political movements, digitally mobilised groups may have no leaders who can negotiate or call off protests. With no clear chain of command, even a genuine attempt at dialogue may struggle to reach the people on the streets. When violence disrupts legitimate demonstrations, distinguishing democratic dissent from organised disorder becomes harder. The economic fallout can be widespread. Blocked roads disrupt transport, strikes affect supplies, and violence hurts businesses and tourism while raising policing costs. Social disruption can thus become a powerful tool of political pressure. What Happens Next? Europe faces a difficult balance. More riot police may restore order, but governments must also address the grievances behind the unrest. Legitimate grievances do not justify violence, just as public disorder should not be used to dismiss peaceful protest. That means tackling housing costs, declining public services, education and energy insecurity, while enforcing clear migration and integration policies. Governments must also address public concerns rather than dismiss them as extremism, leaving political extremes free to exploit them. Protests in France and Belgium may fade, but economic insecurity, political grievances, misinformation and online mobilisation will remain challenges. The question is not just how to stop the unrest, but why so much discontent has built up. Recent protests in Delhi, Mumbai and other Indian cities offer a limited comparison. Despite different grievances, social media has shown how quickly discontent can move from smartphones to the streets. Mobilisations around electoral roll revisions, including those backed by opposition parties, are part of democratic politics. India’s institutions have so far absorbed such episodes without major disruption. Claims of foreign interference, however, require evidence. The causes and scale of unrest differ between India and Europe, even if the methods of mobilisation share similarities. (The writer is an advocate, legal, geopolitical and public policy analyst. Views personal.)

India working on logistics of Tahawwur Rana's extradition

PTI
Feb 14, 2025
3 min read

Updated: Feb 18, 2025

Tahawwur Rana

Washington: India is working on the logistics of Tahawwur Rana's surrender and extradition from the US, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri has said, as President Donald Trump announced that his administration has given the go-ahead to extradite the 26/11 terror attack accused “to face justice".

“This is an issue on which the US authorities have taken very clear decisions. I think you've seen the President announce it himself from the White House podium" the decision of the US to extradite Rana, Misri said at a press conference here on Thursday.


During a joint press conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the White House, US President Donald Trump announced that his administration has approved the extradition of "very evil" Tahawwur Rana, wanted by Indian law enforcement agencies for his role in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, "to face justice in India”.


In response to a question by PTI on the timeframe by when Rana will be extradited to India, Misri said: "We are working on the logistics of his surrender and extradition to India. There are a few final steps to be completed. The two sides are in touch on this particular issue.”


The India-US joint statement issued during the Prime Minister's visit to the US notes that Modi and Trump reaffirmed that the global scourge of terrorism must be fought and terrorist safe havens eliminated from every corner of the world.

“They committed to strengthen cooperation against terrorist threats from groups, including Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Jaish-e Mohammad, and Lashkar-e-Tayyiba in order to prevent heinous acts like the attacks in Mumbai on 26/11 and the Abbey Gate bombing in Afghanistan on August 26, 2021," the joint statement said.


“Recognising a shared desire to bring to justice those who would harm our citizens, the US announced that the extradition to India of Tahawwur Rana has been approved," it said.


The leaders further called on Pakistan to expeditiously bring to justice the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai, and Pathankot attacks and ensure that its territory is not used to carry out cross-border terrorist attacks.

"The leaders also pledged to work together to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems and to deny access to such weapons by terrorists and non-state actors,” the joint statement added.

Rana, a Canadian national of Pakistani origin, is currently lodged at a metropolitan detention centre in Los Angeles. He is known to be associated with Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators of the 26/11 attacks.

Speaking at the joint press meet, Trump said "Today I am pleased to announce that my administration has approved the extradition of one of the plotters and very evil people of the world, and having to do with the horrific Mumbai terrorist attack, to face justice in India. So, he is going back to India to face justice."


The extradition of Rana was cleared by the US Supreme Court in January as it rejected his review petition in the case.


India last month said it was working with American authorities for the early extradition of Rana.


"The US Supreme Court on January 21 declined to hear a petition from the accused. We are now working with the US side on procedural issues for early extradition to India of the accused in the Mumbai terror attack," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said.


In November 2012, Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone surviving gunman among the Pakistani group, was hanged to death in Yerawada Jail in Pune.

-PTI

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