Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has conceded defeat to a student-led protest movement in parliamentary elections. He said on Sunday that the Student List had won, with an estimated 135 to 140 seats, while his party would take about 105. Vučić called the snap vote in September after almost two years of student-led demonstrations against alleged corruption and creeping authoritarianism. Turnout was nearly 70 per cent, the highest since the break-up of Yugoslavia in 1992. Supporters celebrated in the streets of Belgrade after the announcement.
Serbian voters turned out in record numbers on Monday in a snap parliamentary election. Nearly 65 per cent of 6.4 million registered voters had cast ballots by 6:00 pm local time, the highest turnout in more than three decades. The vote follows nearly two years of student-led protests after a canopy collapse at Novi Sad railway station in 2024 killed 16 people. The Students' List, backed by the movement, poses the biggest challenge yet to Aleksandar Vucic's Serbian Progressive Party. Vucic has accused the students of plotting a foreign-funded coup.
Serbia's ruling party has lost snap parliamentary elections, according to veteran leader Aleksandar Vucic, who conceded defeat on Monday. Preliminary results showed the student-backed movement surging ahead. Turnout was the highest in more than three decades, with nearly 65 per cent of 6.4 million registered voters casting ballots by 6:00 pm local time. The vote follows nearly two years of protests sparked by the 2024 collapse of a canopy at Novi Sad railway station that killed 16 people, a disaster widely blamed on corruption. Celebrations erupted in Belgrade after the result was announced.
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Student-led demonstrations in France turned violent across major cities on Saturday, with buildings set alight, businesses looted and police using tear gas and water cannons. The Associated Press estimated between 550,000 and 800,000 people joined about 110 protests nationwide. The unrest began in mid-September over teacher shortages and school conditions, then merged with broader anger over living costs and public spending cuts. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu condemned the violence and blamed radical far-left groups and criminal elements. Palestinian flags were seen at some demonstrations, including one in Paris on October 8.
Violent fringe groups joined nationwide French protests over education and the cost of living, setting fire to Limoges City Hall and looting boutiques in several cities. Police used water cannon and tear gas in Paris. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said about 1,200 people had been arrested. Hundreds of thousands marched peacefully, according to organisers and officials. President Emmanuel Macron vowed to punish those responsible for the attacks, which came months before a presidential election.
French students are taking to the streets over concerns about education. Their grievances include deteriorating school facilities and unequal access to higher education. Questions are also being raised about clashes and violence surrounding the protests. The Wire's Manon Louvet spoke to three high school students and a university student about what is driving the movement and what they want the government to change.
