[Anchor]
Protests that began in France are spreading across Europe. Mainly driven by soaring living costs and severe economic hardship, protesters in Italy even breached the Colosseum, a world cultural heritage site.
Reporter Kim Jin-woo has the story.
[Reporter]
Protesters have entered the Colosseum, a world-renowned cultural heritage site.
When security guards attempt to forcibly remove the protesters, water bottles are thrown and physical clashes ensue.
In downtown Rome, tear gas detonates amidst loud noises, and police deploy water cannons against the protesters to disperse them.
[Giorgia Falbo / Protester: The right to protest is a sacred and legitimate right. Protesting is naturally the right thing to do.]
Major cities across Italy have been thrown into chaos by protests against high inflation and austerity measures.
In Turin, police suppressed protesters using shields and batons, while in Bologna, a citizen suffered a head injury and received medical treatment.
In Milan, where 45 people were arrested during last weekend's protests due to looting and arson, an additional 500 airborne troops were deployed to conduct stop-and-search operations.
Ten thousand protesters, including thousands of university students, gathered to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Meloni.
[Yara El Nahal / Protester: Unlike previous generations, our generation is placed in a situation where we can no longer picture our own futures.]
[Chloe / Protester: You can tell that those in power do not care at all about how we will live in the future or what kind of situation we will be placed in.]
In Albania, protesters demanding the eradication of corruption in the education sector and the resignation of the prime minister set fire to a government building and clashed with police.
In Portugal, where housing shortages among young people and low-wage workers have worsened due to skyrocketing home prices and rents, tent protests continued, and rallies opposing the privatization of public pensions persisted in Spain as well.
(Video by Yu Mi-ra)
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