In May 1968, a disagreement at a university outside Paris eventually led roughly 10 million French workers to strike.
What began as student unrest spilled out of classrooms and onto the streets, eventually bringing factories, transportation networks, and much of the French economy along for the ride. France did not collapse. But for several strange weeks, the country came remarkably close to grinding to a halt.
History doesn’t repeat itself quite that neatly. And today’s Europe certainly isn’t reliving 1968.
But there is something familiar happening on the streets of France and neighboring Spain, where frustrations over two fairly fundamental things—housing and education—are spilling into public unrest.
No room at the inn
Spain has a housing problem.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development estimates the country accumulated a shortage of roughly 600,000 homes between 2022 and 2025. Social rental housing represents only about 3% of the country’s housing stock.
In September, 87-year-old María del Carmen “Maricarmen” Abascal was evicted from the Madrid apartment where she had lived for roughly 70 years. Her case quickly became a symbol of Spain’s larger affordability problem and helped breathe new life into a protest movement that has brought demonstrators into the streets across the country.
The demonstrations have largely remained peaceful.
Then there’s Barcelona.
A large demonstration on October 5 ended with barricades in the streets, burning trash bins, confrontations with police, 13 arrests, and roughly 30 officers suffering minor injuries. Police put the crowd at around 20,000. Organizers said 120,000.
School’s out (sort of)
A few hundred miles northeast, France is facing a different kind of unrest. And this time, students are leading the charge.
For weeks, demonstrations have spread over teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms, deteriorating buildings, long school days, and frustration with France’s university admissions system.
On October 1 alone, more than 1,000 high schools were affected by protests or strikes, according to France’s Education Ministry. Teachers and parents have joined demonstrations, while school blockades have disrupted surrounding streets and public transportation. By October 6, demonstrations across the country drew more than 266,000 people.
And things have become still more contentious.
After a 15-year-old boy lost his hand during a confrontation with police in Lens, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez suspended police use of stun grenades at student demonstrations while authorities investigate.
Why you should care: The longer demonstrations continue, the easier they are to mistake for routine background noise. But conditions around them can change quickly, bringing road closures, transit disruptions, and police activity closer to employees and workplaces.
Organizations don’t need to provide employees with political commentary. They need to provide useful information: where demonstrations are occurring, which roads or stations are affected, whether workplaces remain accessible, and what employees should do next.
Sometimes the difference between a news story and an operational headache is a single city block. |
