TIRANA, Albania — Albania’s political crisis deepened on Saturday as thousands of protesters gathered in central Tirana and clashed with riot police, with authorities firing rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannon as a student-led movement demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama’s resignation entered its fifth consecutive day.
The latest confrontation marked a significant escalation in unrest that began with demonstrations over education, unemployment and allegations of government corruption but has developed into one of the most serious challenges to Rama’s government since he came to power in 2013.
Young demonstrators gathered outside the Ministry of Education and other government buildings in the capital, where some protesters threw rocks, petrol bombs, flares and fireworks at police lines. Police responded with tear gas, water cannon and baton charges, while Reuters footage showed officers firing what appeared to be rubber bullets toward crowds. Reuters reporters found rubber pellets on the ground, and several protesters and two Reuters journalists were struck by pellets.
Albania’s national police chief, Skender Hita, confirmed that rubber bullets had been used, describing their deployment as limited. He also said seven police officers had been suspended and were facing disciplinary investigations over allegations that they exceeded their authority and failed to observe the principle of proportionality when dealing with demonstrators.
The violence has produced sharply different accounts of the scale of the unrest. Police said 1,067 people had been arrested over the five days of demonstrations and that 388 had been criminally prosecuted. Other reporting based on earlier police figures put the number of arrests substantially lower, illustrating how rapidly the situation has developed and how figures have changed as authorities processed detainees. Scores of protesters and police officers have been injured.
The immediate political demand of the demonstrators is the resignation of Rama, who has rejected calls to leave office. He has maintained that his government has a mandate to govern and has linked Albania’s future to its ambition of joining the European Union.
“My responsibility is even clearer during these difficult times,” Rama said Saturday, arguing that his government must protect citizens, guarantee justice and move Albania toward EU membership by 2030.
The demonstrations have drawn particular strength from younger Albanians. High school and university students have joined an already broader anti-government movement, bringing complaints about university fees, poor educational facilities, limited financial assistance and weak employment prospects into the center of the national political debate.
For many young protesters, however, the demonstrations represent a much wider frustration with the direction of the country. Allegations of corruption, concerns about economic opportunity and anger over what demonstrators describe as years of unfulfilled promises have combined with dissatisfaction over public services.
“It’s been 13 years of corruption and 13 years of doing nothing and empty promises,” 22-year-old medical student Juri Taullahu told Reuters during Saturday’s protest.
The current movement has its roots in months of protests over a controversial luxury tourism development on Albania’s southern coastline. The project is associated with an investment company founded by Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump. The dispute over the development initially focused on land, environmental concerns and the future of one of Albania’s most prized coastal areas, but the movement gradually expanded into a broader campaign against Rama’s government.
Reuters previously reported that villagers in southern Albania said their land had been wrongfully sold for the development. The man who sold the land was later reported to be wanted by prosecutors on suspicion of drug trafficking, although his lawyer denied the allegations. Reuters also reported that it found no evidence of wrongdoing by Kushner, who was not directly involved in the villagers’ dispute.
The movement has become known by some participants as the “Flamingo Revolution,” reflecting its origins in protests against the coastal development. According to reporting by Le Monde, the demonstrations remained largely peaceful for months before the arrival of thousands of students dramatically changed the character of the movement in October.
The transformation has been particularly visible in Tirana. Government buildings and banks have been damaged, windows and traffic infrastructure have been smashed, rubbish bins have been set on fire and streets have been filled with debris. Earlier in the week, protesters set fire to the Education Ministry building and a bank, prompting police to deploy water cannon and tear gas.
The government has condemned the violence while saying that citizens retain the right to peaceful protest. Rama has accused conservative political opponents of helping fuel the unrest, while opposition figures and protesters have rejected the government's characterization of the movement as simply a politically motivated campaign.
The police response has also become a major part of the controversy. The suspension of seven officers indicates that authorities themselves are investigating allegations of excessive force, even as police defend their response by pointing to attacks on officers and public property.
The competing claims have created a difficult political environment in which both the government and protesters are portraying themselves as defending Albania’s future. Protesters say they are fighting for better education, employment, accountability and a more transparent political system. The government says it must maintain public order while protecting Albania’s European path.
The unrest is particularly significant because Rama has already secured a fourth term in office. His Socialist Party has governed Albania since 2013, giving him considerable political control, but the scale and persistence of the demonstrations represent a growing challenge to that dominance.
Rama has refused to resign despite the protests and has pledged to continue governing. His administration is also attempting to advance Albania’s long-running campaign for European Union membership. Albania, together with Montenegro, is among the Western Balkan countries making comparatively strong progress toward EU accession, making political stability increasingly important to its European ambitions.
The demonstrations also come at a time of growing street-level discontent elsewhere in Europe. France has been experiencing its own wave of protests involving students and other groups concerned about education, public services and the cost of living, while Spain has faced demonstrations over high rents and a shortage of affordable housing. The simultaneous unrest has highlighted a wider European concern over whether governments are adequately responding to economic pressures facing younger generations.
For Albania, however, the immediate concern is whether the confrontation in Tirana can be brought under control without further escalation. The continued participation of students has given the movement a broader social base, while the increasing use of violence has raised the possibility of a prolonged confrontation between demonstrators and security forces.
What began as a campaign over a controversial development and later expanded into demands for political accountability has now become a national debate over corruption, education, employment, public institutions and the direction of Albania itself.
As protesters continue to demand Rama’s resignation and the government insists that it will remain in office, Albania faces a critical test: whether the country can address mounting public anger through political dialogue and institutional reform before further violence deepens an already serious crisis.