commentary

Youth protests in Europe and India signal a deepening crisis. For most people, democracy hasn't delivered

Published October 26, 2026 9:00AM (EDT)

A protester reacts to tear gas fired by police at Place de la République in Paris, Oct. 18, 2026. (Jerome Gilles/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

A specter is haunting Europe, and plenty of other places too. Nobody knows quite what to call it. It isn’t the specter of communism this time around, or at least not under that name — although something approaching class warfare, redefined in 21st-century terms, is on the agenda for the first time in decades.

Student protests that began at secondary schools in the northern suburbs of Paris about a month ago have sparked a wave of demonstrations and street battles— occasionally tipping over into rioting, looting, and organized property destruction — that has now spread to at least six or seven countries, with new outbreaks happening nearly every day.…