Wave of unrest breaks out across Europe: Protesters firebomb police and loot stores as violence grips France, Germany and Albania on Halloween

Protesters hurled petrol bombs at police and targeted shops as a wave of violent unrest swept across Europe on Halloween.

Berlin became the latest European capital to witness clashes as more than 3,500 demonstrators - many wearing costumes - descended on the streets, with flares, fireworks and glass bottles thrown at riot police.

In Paris, an officer was engulfed in flames after being struck by a Molotov cocktail in an attack France's interior minister described as 'attempted murder'.

The disorder follows weeks of student demonstrations across Europe. In France, protests over education funding have widened into a broader movement, while in Albania they have merged with demands for Prime Minister Edi Rama to resign.

Young demonstrators' grievances range from high living costs to government spending cuts and poorly maintained schools. 

In Germany, they also fear conscription, viewing the introduction of voluntary military service as a possible step towards compulsory service.

In Berlin, at least 56 people were arrested as protesters occupied tram lines, blocked roads and marched into the evening. Police used water cannons and pepper spray, with 27 officers injured.

Youth protest group Gen-Z Regelt! - meaning Gen-Z has got this - had called demonstrations in 34 German cities on Saturday.

People try to break a window of a store selling weapons, during a nationwide protest by campaign group Gen Z regelt against underfunding of schools, cuts to education, social services, culture and healthcare, rising living costs, and military conscription, in Frankfurt

Flames rise on riot policemen after a Molotov cocktail was thrown as clashes occur between protesters and riot police during a demonstration against rising living costs and cuts to public services in Paris, France, 31 October 2026

Protesters stand next to waste bins on fire during an anti-government demonstration in central Tirana, Albania

In Berlin, the Daily Mail watched as one young man was tackled to the ground by around ten police officers and dragged away, leaving a puddle of blood on the doorstep of a shop

An afternoon gathering beside Berlin's Brandenburg Gate passed largely peacefully. 

But violence erupted during a separate evening march involving other groups, including large numbers of pro-Palestinian demonstrators, under the banner 'Gen-Z has had enough!'

The Daily Mail watched as one young man was tackled to the ground by around ten police officers and dragged away, leaving a puddle of blood on the doorstep of a shop.

Several others were also arrested, including at least one journalist reporting on the event.

Protesters waved signs that read 'Time for resistance', and 'Merz must go', in reference to the country's Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Alongside chants of 'free Palestine', there were also calls for 'anti-fascism', amid the rise of the far-Right Alternative for Germany (AfD). The party has seen growing success in the East of the country, winning a recent state election in Saxony-Anhalt.

One man, a biology teacher, brought a deck chair to Rosenthalerplatz, where the Berlin march started.

He was swiftly hit by an egg, but remained undeterred as he told the Mail that he had come to understand the concerns of his 18-year-old students.

On the scenes of looting at French protests earlier this month, he added: 'Nobody needs so much luxury, but also, nobody has the right to destroy such stores.

'I don't think it's good what happened there, some people just like the violence.'

By 7.30pm, officers said that all those who refused to go home would face water cannons and arrest. The crowds, meanwhile, chanted 'shame on you' and 'all police are b*******'.

A French Gendarme who is partly burning runs in a street as facing protesters at the end of a protest march during nationwide demonstrations over the rising cost of living and inequality organised by Yellow Vest movement

Police run past a trash dumpster set on fire by protesters in downtown Frankfurt

A person dressed in a Batman costume stands in front of a burning trash dumpster in downtown Frankfurt

Demonstrators pose with Halloween masks as they attend a protest under the slogan 'Gen Z Takes Care of It' in Frankfurt, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026

Police officers take cover behind a vehicle with a Molotov cocktail fire during an anti-government demonstration in central Tirana on October 31, 2026

The protesters eventually trickled away, but officers remained on high alert on every street corner in the area.

In Germany, student protests were followed by clashes in several cities, with police deploying water cannons in Frankfurt after officers were pelted with stones and firecrackers.

At least one officer was injured during the unrest in the city, according to the local force.

Police later arrested one person and seized two weapons after the windows of a gun shop in central Frankfurt were smashed.

Officers secured the remaining weapons inside the premises.

As the violence continued into the evening, the force urged anyone not taking part in the protests to stay away from the city centre, warning that Molotov cocktails were being thrown at emergency personnel.

There were also reports of disorder in Cologne, where around 50 people were reportedly arrested following a demonstration in the city centre.

German broadcaster RTL reported that groups wearing dark clothing had been kicking walls, shouting and throwing pyrotechnics.

Water cannons were also used in Cologne and Hamburg, while officers in Leipzig deployed pepper spray. An officer in Bonn suffered minor injuries. 

In Bremen, police said a march that began peacefully descended into disorder when some participants set off pyrotechnics and insulted officers.

Demonstrations were also held in Munich.

Protesters in La Plaine Square set up barricades in the side streets on October 31, 2026 in Marseille, France

Thousands of protesters gather in the evening in La Plaine Square, set up barricades, and clashed with police on October 31, 2026 in Marseille, France

Protesters clash with police officers during a demonstration organized by the 'GenZ regelt!' (Gen Z has got this!) initiative in Cologne, Germany

Berlin became the latest European capital to witness clashes as more than 3,500 demonstrators

In Berlin, at least 56 people were arrested as protesters occupied tram lines, blocked roads and marched into the evening. Police used water cannons and pepper spray, with 27 officers injured

Protesters wearing Halloween costumes pose in front of the French national flag during a demonstration in Lyon, central-eastern France on October 31, 2026

People clash with police in front of the Ministry of Education during a demonstration asking for the Prime Minister resignation in Tirana, Albania

Pictured: Protestors dressed up for Halloween in Berlin

In Albania, footage from the capital Tirana showed demonstrators throwing petrol bombs and paving stones at police.

Protests over insufficient education funding have become part of a wider movement demanding Rama's resignation, with demonstrations repeatedly descending into violence. 

Meanwhile, French police arrested five people accused of attempting to loot a Foot Locker store in Marseille.

Police in the Bouches-du-Rhone prefecture said the suspects were caught trying to break into the shop's storerooms.

Gen-Z Regelt! said some 120,000 people took part in demonstrations across Germany. Police said the main protests themselves had been 'very peaceful'.

Andreas Rosskopf, an official from the police union, told the Rheinische Post that officers had intervened 'very decisively and also forcefully' where violence did break out, adding that property damage had largely been avoided by the evening.

Gen-Z Regelt! said it explicitly rejected violence in Germany. 'Extremist groups, anti-constitutional symbols, racism and hate speech have no place with us – no matter from which side,' it wrote online.

France's interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, said around 150 demonstrations had passed peacefully on Saturday, but police had faced an 'extraordinary' level of violence from some rioters.

A police officer stands near a burning car during a demonstration in Paris

A French Gendarme who is partly burning tries to extinguish the fire in a street as facing protesters at the end of a protest march

French gendarmes operate with a street barricade on fire in the background during nationwide demonstrations

Police face protesters during a demonstration called 'GenZ hat genug!' (Gen Z has had enough!) in Berlin, Germany

A protester wearing a costume stands next to a burning fire during a demonstration in Paris

A protester sets up a barricade at La Plaine Square on October 31, 2026 in Marseille

Protesters in La Plaine Square set up barricades in the side streets on October 31, 2026 in Marseille, France

Two people try to put out the barricade set on fire by protesters on October 31, 2026

Police officers in riot gears walk by a rubbish fire as they confront protesters taking part in a banned demonstration in Marseille

Describing the Molotov cocktail attack on the Paris officer as an 'attempted murder', he warned that the night was not yet over.

'We are fully prepared for those looking for confrontation,' he said.

The French unrest began with demonstrations by high school students demanding the equivalent of around £9billion for the education system, before expanding to draw in groups ranging from trade unions to Black Bloc anarchists.

Demonstrations have also spread to countries including Italy, Portugal and Poland.