France is not the only country witnessing an outpouring of discontent on the streets. Be it Albania, Belgium, Italy or Portugal, a wave of social unrest appears to be sweeping across the European Union.

Like in France, where the protests started with student dissatisfaction with school facilities, most of these protests are eventually turning into a broader cry about the cost of living crisis.

In other words, while the timing is often political — several countries such as France and Italy are set for national elections in 2027— the issues are in fact economic in nature.

It is often argued that growing economic inequalities in an economy lead to such social unrest.…