unrest

What began as protests over education has rapidly taken over the streets of France and turned into one of the country’s biggest waves of unrest in years.

Many mainstream media outlets have focused their coverage on the violence and looting rather than on the demands of the demonstrators. A lot of airtime has fixated on who the protesters are and what they look like, often using racist terms. That narrative has been picked up by right-wing movements abroad.

Contributors:
Cole Stangler – author, Paris Is Not Dead, and lecturer, American College of the Mediterranean
Diane de Vignemont – Paris-based journalist
Harrison Stetler – lecturer and writer
Philippe Marliere – professor of French and European politics, University College London

On our radar

Israel’s elections are just days away and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reverted to a familiar alarmist tactic to consolidate support: hyping an “imminent” threat from Iran and telling the United States that it should “finish the job”. Meenakshi Ravi looks at the messaging.

Olga Rudenko: Independent journalism is the ‘ultimate patriotic act’

More than four and a half years into Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine remains under attack, and its journalists are forced to balance many responsibilities at once.

They are documenting a war that has become more dangerous than ever, countering Russian propaganda efforts and trying to hold their own government to account at a time when the news media have been expected to fall into line. The Kyiv Independent, an online newspaper, has been doing all three since 2021.

The Listening Post spoke with its editor-in-chief and cofounder Olga Rudenko about the pressures of reporting when your country is at war.

Featuring:
Olga Rudenko – editor-in-chief, The Kyiv Independent

Since 2010, Burnley have won promotion to the Premier League on five occasions and of their five subsequent relegations they have bounced back immediately three times – but achieving that for a fourth time is looking increasingly unlikely.

After Scott Parker’s departure towards the end of last season, Nicky Hayen was finally brought in as Burnley’s new head coach less than a month before the new Championship campaign started, after a move for Wales boss Craig Bellamy fell through.

“I think there is an element of sympathy among the fans for Hayen but two things can be true at the same time – you can sympathise and also think he’s out of his depth,” said Joe Redmond, creator and host of the Turfcast podcast., external

“He was brought in after pre-season had started, has been forced to work with some coaches left over from Scott Parker and had his main striker, Zian Flemming, sold from under him on transfer deadline day.

“These are clearly errors from the hierarchy but at the same time he clearly isn’t getting the best out of this squad – I’m sure there’s a decent manager in there somewhere but I don’t think he’s what we need right now.”

A total of 11 new players arrived under Hayen during a busy summer of transfer activity with 10 heading for the exit as the Belgian overhauled the squad.

What has followed has been nothing short of a horror show in the lead up to Halloween.

“I look at that squad and it’s been scattergun,” former Watford and Reading midfielder Jobi McAnuff, now an EFL pundit, told the BBC’s podcast 72+.

“They bounce up [to the Premier League], come down, go up, come down and they haven’t handled that well enough – we all knew Flemming was going but you leave it right until the end of the window and you’re killing the manager.

“Then you get [Jamie] Vardy in. I love him but he’s 39 and you cannot expect him to be your main man all season, he’s going to come on and chip in and be great around the dressing room.”

“At the very minimum we should be battling it out at the top end of the table,” added Redmond.

“This squad has proved it’s not good enough for that so far this season but one coming down from the Premier League should be able to compete, and if it can’t then something has gone seriously wrong.”

Riot police clash with protesters for fourth day, as young Albanians protest corruption and poor university conditions

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has blamed “foreign hands” for the increasingly violent student-led protests that are calling on him to resign.

Riot police clashed with protesters outside the education ministry for the fourth day in a row, as thousands of young Albanians marched through the capital, Tirana, on Friday to protest government corruption and poor university conditions.

“This is not a student phenomenon,” Rama said in a video address on Friday. He said there were “foreign hands that do not wish for Albania to be at peace”.

Rama insisted that the protest had “absolutely nothing to do with the hardships, problems or legitimate aspirations of anyone who desires a better life”.

Police officers used water cannon and tear gas as demonstrators hurled rocks.

The protests have spread beyond the capital to Elbasan, Shkodra and Korca, where demonstrators broke windows and set fire to rubbish bins, local media reported.

The ongoing escalation follows months of mostly peaceful demonstrations, originally sparked by the sale of part of Albania’s coastline to a luxury resort development linked to Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.

Days of unrest have increasingly targeted banks and government buildings. Protesters hurled bricks and concrete blocks at the education ministry on Tuesday. They also set fire to several buildings across the city, including the prime minister’s office, the finance and justice ministry buildings and branches of several banks.

According to a police statement, 160 people were detained over alleged acts of violence on Thursday evening.

The EU question

Demonstrators are demanding Rama’s resignation, as well as electoral and education reforms.

The prime minister, whose government denies corruption, said he would be ready to discuss rising education costs but rejected the calls to resign.

He said on Thursday, “My responsibility is to listen, address legitimate concerns and keep Albania moving forward.”

His dismissal “would be a betrayal of the Albanians who gave me a strong mandate to complete negotiations on European Union membership”, he added.

Corruption scandals have complicated Albania’s efforts to join the EU. Analysts say the country is a hub for gangs seeking to launder money from drugs and weapons trafficking.

Rama won a fourth term last year on promises to take Albania into the EU, aiming for membership as early as 2028.