Lawmakers in Albania scuffled inside parliament on Thursday as opposition politicians attempted to halt legislative business over days of student-led street protests demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama, Euronews reported.
Opposition members of parliament blocked the speaker’s podium and brandished photographs of demonstrators injured during clashes with police, protesting the assembly leadership’s refusal to hold a formal debate on the unrest. Outside the building, crowds of university and high school students gathered as demonstrations in the capital, Tirana, reached their tenth straight day.
Clashes spread across the capital
The confrontation in the national assembly followed a sharp escalation on the streets of Tirana, where daily demonstrations have turned increasingly combative. Riot police have repeatedly deployed tear gas, water cannons and batons against crowds that have hurled rocks, fireworks and petrol bombs toward public institutions, according to reports from UnHerd and Euronews.
Unrest intensified over the weekend when demonstrators pushed toward the Prime Minister’s Office and set a vehicle ablaze, forcing armored police vehicles to withdraw, UnHerd reported. Clashes also spilled near the Catholic Cathedral, where teenagers sought shelter amid heavy clouds of tear gas.
Protesters have coordinated primarily through encrypted chats, social networks and messaging channels without a single public organizer, cybersecurity specialist Besmir Semanaj told Deutsche Welle. Semanaj noted that the decentralized structure has complicated government efforts to manage or suppress the gatherings.
Roots of public anger
The unrest grew out of the “Flamingo Revolution,” a peaceful movement that began in May to oppose a planned 1.4-billion-euro luxury tourism development on the island of Sazan and the Zvernec coastline, Middle East Eye reported. The project was awarded strategic investor status in late 2024 to a firm linked to Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Over the summer and into autumn, the demonstrations broadened into a wider rebellion against economic hardship, corruption and high tuition costs, according to DW. Many demonstrators pointed to stagnant wages and widespread emigration, with more than 600,000 citizens having left Albania between 2011 and 2023, Middle East Eye reported.
Public indignation has also been fueled by high-profile corruption inquiries into members of Rama’s administration, according to Middle East Eye. Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj has been held in detention since February 2025 on corruption and money-laundering allegations, while former Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku faces charges over public contracts worth more than 200 million euros. Both have denied wrongdoing.
Government defies calls to step down
Rama, who secured a fourth consecutive term last year, has insisted he will not yield to street pressure. Speaking after a meeting with educators, Rama described the protests as an unlawful effort to seize power by force, Euronews reported. In televised remarks and public statements, he has labeled the youth protests a “hybrid war” and blamed outside actors, including Iran, foreign governments and “antifa,” DW and UnHerd reported.
Security researcher Redion Qirjazi told DW that no evidence has been presented to substantiate claims of an organized antifa presence orchestrating the demonstrations, suggesting the government may be invoking foreign subversion to justify harsher security crackdowns.
The U.S. Embassy has urged restraint and peaceful protest, while the European Commission has condemned property destruction and urged Albanian authorities to maintain a lawful and proportionate response. With protest organizers demanding an interim technocratic government before fresh elections and Rama steadfastly refusing to resign, both sides remain locked in a tense standoff.
