- A Yellow Vest protestor was severely injured in Paris on Saturday, as police shot tear gas at those trying to knock down a barrier at the French Parliament. It is the second severe injury in as many weeks. The uprising against President Emmanuel Macron is in its thirteenth consecutive week.
- A tenth consecutive weekend of protests took place in Belgrade and several other cities across Serbia on Saturday. Protestors defied freezing temperatures, and their president, Aleksandar Vucic, who they accuse of stifling media freedoms and cracking down on dissent.
- Hundreds of thousands of Italians marched through the streets of Rome Saturday to protest the populist government’s economic policies. Italy’s unemployment rate of 9.7% is third-highest in the EU, with underemployment even worse.
- Relations between France and Italy themselves seem to have hit a postwar low. France recalled its ambassador to Italy on Thursday, after Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio met with Yellow Vest protestors earlier in the week. Di Maio was warned by Paris to stay out of French politics.
- Meanwhile, the overall health of Europe’s economy appears shakier than first thought. The Bank of England and the European Commission both offered downbeat outlooks on Thursday, downgrading their 2019 GDP growth forecasts to under 2%.
Week of Uncertainty, Weekend of Protests, Grip Europe
