Last weekend saw large protests across France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Albania.

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France saw the largest numbers, with half a million taking to the streets. They have also been going on the longest. They began with school students protesting chronic underfunding of state schools and the large inequalities in the French education system.

In Spain, the protests started with the scandalous eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen, who then died two weeks later. At the same time, parliament voted down the government’s popular housing reforms that would have protected people like Maricarmen. As a result, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called a snap election for November. A week ago, much news reporting focused on this as part of Gen Z protests globally, with India’s Cockroach movement as a leading example.

All these protests share a focus on growing inequality and eroding democracy.

This inequality is partly about class. Wages have long stagnated, and funding for education, health care, housing and other public services has not........

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