Europe on the Brink
Read Time:2 Minute, 25 Second
Protests continue in Europe over the ever increasing cost of living
Protests over rising living costs and an escalating energy crisis have hit Europe in recent days, with many protesters angry about their governments waging war on their own people by following the United States in sanctioning Russia over the Ukraine crisis.
Over the weekend, protests filled the streets of Paris, Berlin and Prague with some shouting out “leave NATO” or “Our country first”, according to media reports, which analysts said hinted at a deeper crisis in Europe.
In a video shared by Florian Philippot, who leads the French nationalist party “Les Patriotes”, hundreds of protesters shouted out “Leave NATO” on Sunday in Paris, waving French national flags and holding large banners reading “Resistance” and “Frexit” – a reference to a demand that France leave the EU, Russian media outlet RT said.
The protesters also denounced NATO “warmongering” and economic “disruption” linked to the sanctions that the EU imposed on Russia over the Russia-Ukraine crisis, according to the reports.
Similar scenes occurred in countries such as Germany, Czech and Moldova. Supporters of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party gathered in front of Berlin’s Reichstag building on Saturday to protest rising prices in the country, German media outlet DW reported. The party’s co-leader accused the government of waging war on its own people by sanctioning Russia over its military operation in Ukraine, the media report said.
Several thousand people gathered in Prague’s Wenceslas Square on Saturday to voice concerns over rising living costs, the Xinhua News Agency said. The country’s major trade unions organized the demonstration, calling attention to inflation and declining living standards in the Czech Republic, according to the report.
Also, demonstrations against the government in Moldova have been going on for more than a month, Sputnik said on Sunday, as the economic and energy crisis worsens in the country because of energy prices.
Europe is facing rising populism, the sanctions against Russia have disrupted livelihoods, which will further exacerbate populism and risks becoming a structural crisis which might threaten the existence of the European Union. “The public demand for livelihoods will be used by far-right parties in local elections, posing a threat to the overall European political system,” Song Luzheng, a Paris-based Chinese scholar told Global Times on Monday.
Source GT
Happy
0 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
0 %
0
0
Average Rating