Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets across Europe in recent weeks, angry at rising living costs, low wages, unaffordable housing and underfunded schools.

Protests in France, Belgium, Italy and Portugal have sometimes descended into clashes, looting and fires, although many protests have remained peaceful.

France has been at the centre of the unrest. More than 550,000 people demonstrated nationwide on Saturday , according to the Interior Ministry, amid weeks of student protests over education and living costs.

The unrest has turned the spotlight on a fiscal squeeze that governments are struggling to control.…