Cost-of-living pressures, including soaring fuel prices, are driving unrest across Europe and giving far-right parties fresh momentum ahead of elections next year in countries including France, Italy and Poland. In France, protests have grown into some of the country's worst unrest in decades, while the AfD leads national polls in Germany.
Soaring fuel prices are squeezing household budgets and businesses across Europe, and far-right parties are gaining from the resulting anger. The US-Iran war, which erupted in February, sent energy prices sharply higher and compounded the challenge for governments already struggling to contain inflation.
The European Commission estimates the Iran conflict has cost Europe roughly €100 billion ($112 billion) through disrupted trade and energy markets. Gas prices have jumped about 140% and diesel prices have doubled.
Protests spread from France to Italy and Iberia
In France, demonstrations that began over deteriorating school facilities in Paris' northern suburbs have become some of the country's worst unrest in decades, with shops looted and a 19th-century town hall in Limoges set on fire. According to Reuters, President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged the "legitimate demands" of protesters while condemning those responsible for violence.
Elsewhere, police in Milan clashed on Sunday with protesters over poor public services and rising living costs. Farmers in Gela, Sicily, say fuel costs have made operating machinery prohibitively expensive. Meanwhile, tens of thousands marched through Lisbon on Saturday, and a housing protest in Spain helped trigger a snap election next month.
Le Pen and the AfD campaign on fuel costs
In France, frontrunner Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Rally and hard-left veteran Jean-Luc Melenchon have both made fuel prices central planks in their campaigns ahead of next April's presidential election. Since the Iran war began, Le Pen's ratings have improved while Macron's have slipped, according to polling by Elabe.
Germany shows a similar pattern. The Alternative for Germany is leading national opinion polls after strong gains in local elections, and German energy price inflation rose to 14.9% in September. The AfD is pushing to restore energy ties with Russia, a position also taken by Roberto Vannacci's National Future party in Italy and Grzegorz Braun's Confederation of the Polish Crown in Poland.
Source: Reuters via Investing.com
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