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Europe Today: France braces for fresh protests as EU leaders seek Hungary reset
France is bracing for another weekend of protests after last week’s demonstrations turned violent, as the government faces pressure to restore order. Meanwhile, EU leaders visit Hungary amid hopes of a reset in relations, while Serbia’s snap election puts President Aleksandar Vučić under pressure.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/10/23/europe-today-france-braces-for-fresh-protests-as-eu-leaders-seek-hungary-reset
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France is bracing for another weekend of protests after last week’s demonstrations turned violent, as the government faces pressure to restore order. Meanwhile, EU leaders visit Hungary amid hopes of a reset in relations, while Serbia’s snap election puts President Aleksandar Vučić under pressure.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/10/23/europe-today-france-braces-for-fresh-protests-as-eu-leaders-seek-hungary-reset
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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NewsTranscript
00:14Good morning, it is Friday the 23rd of October. I'm Maeve McMahan and this is Europe Today.
00:21Your morning dose of European news and analysis live here on Euronews.
00:26Coming up, France is bracing for yet another weekend of protests.
00:31In an attempt to defuse tensions, the French Prime Minister held talks with all political groups
00:37to try to prevent the peaceful demonstrations from turning violent.
00:41We'll take you to Paris to hear why student unions are adamant to take to the streets again.
00:47Meanwhile, in Serbia, thousands of students rallied across the country ahead of Sunday's snap parliamentary election.
00:53The vote marks a major test for the ruling party, which has been in power since 2012.
00:59And for the strongman Aleksandr Vucic, who's trying to cling onto power.
01:04Plus, Russia has fired 21 missiles towards Kiev, including three ballistic missiles that carried cluster munition warheads.
01:12That means instead of exploding in one part, they spread all over.
01:16However, the Bank of Kiev was hit in the attack that came just hours after Vladimir Putin had promised to
01:22sit down and talk about peace.
01:25And the International Criminal Court that President Donald Trump has threatened to dismantle, quote,
01:30brick by brick, has been awarded the European Union's prestigious Sekirov Human Rights Prize in Strasbourg.
01:36The abstention of the far-right political group Patriots for Europe was key in breaking the deadlock over the final
01:43choice.
01:43But first, to Budapest, where European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
01:48and the European Council President António Costa will join Prime Minister Péter Maillard
01:52to mark the 70th anniversary of Hungary's 1956 uprising against Soviet rule.
01:59For more, I'm joined here on set by our Hungarian correspondent, Sándor Zíroš.
02:03Just tell us, why is today so important?
02:07Good morning.
02:08So, yes, indeed, the Hungarian Revolution, which happened 70 years ago,
02:12is a key turn in Hungary's fight for independence and sovereignty.
02:18Indeed, it was crashed by the Soviet Red Army, but it's a very symbolic date.
02:23And the presence of António Costa and von der Leyen is very significant
02:29because, you know, this is the first main international event organized by Prime Minister Péter Magyar,
02:36who took power in April after the elections.
02:40And, you know, I would say that this is a key international event for Magyar,
02:45but not a huge success indeed, because we don't have a lot of international leaders
02:50besides of von der Leyen and besides of António Costa.
02:53Emmanuel Macron refused the invitation after the riots in France.
02:59Volodymyr Zelensky was invited, but he didn't come.
03:03And also we don't have Friedrich Merz, we don't have Andy Burnham, for example.
03:08We will have indeed Maya Sandu and the Georgian Prime Minister,
03:13but the main guests are definitely von der Leyen and António Costa.
03:18And that's already symbolic, right, that they are showing up?
03:20Yes, indeed. This shows a lot of political support for Hungary and for Péter Magyar
03:26after the years of tensions under the government of Viktor Orbán.
03:30You remember very well that, you know, von der Leyen was portrayed as a sort of public enemy by Orbán.
03:37They put her on billboards saying that she is endangering Hungary's sovereignty.
03:43Now von der Leyen will speak from the same Hungarian parliament
03:46where Orbán delivered his very critical anti-EU messages for his deputies.
03:53And, you know, we expect a very strong speech from von der Leyen, a very emotional one.
03:59She will probably compare to the Hungarian revolution, to the Hungarian parliamentary elections this year.
04:06She will talk about freedom.
04:08Maybe she will send also a strong message against Russia's war in Ukraine.
04:15And she will explicitly deliver a supporting message for Magyar's government
04:21that is, you know, coming back to the European mainstream.
04:25Well, that's one thing that's clear, isn't it?
04:27Those ties are back on track.
04:28Shandor Zeros, thank you so much for your reporting.
04:31And now to France, where the government has rolled out major security provisions
04:35ahead of mass protests planned for Saturday.
04:39It comes after peaceful demonstrations last weekend were overshadowed by violence
04:43and over 3,000 shops were looted.
04:45For more, we can head over now to Paris,
04:47where our correspondent Estelle Nilsen-Julian is standing by for us in the cold, wet rain.
04:53Good morning, Estelle.
04:54Just tell us what security measures are in place for this weekend.
04:59Good morning, Maeve.
05:01Well, as you say, a mass security apparatus is in place
05:04and protesters will depart from the Place de la Bastille,
05:07just behind me, on Saturday for a major march scheduled in Paris.
05:12However, the military has been deployed in France to guard strategic sites
05:19such as the Élysée, possibly, Matignon,
05:22in order to free up police forces so that they can prevent
05:26any possible violence and scenes of looting that we saw last weekend.
05:32So the idea is that they will be static in these strategic sites.
05:37The Interior Ministry has also warned that there is a possibility
05:41that hard-left groups and activists, agitators,
05:45could cause trouble.
05:47And so they are deploying helicopters, armoured vehicles and the like.
05:52The Louvre Museum and the Quiddell-Orsay have also been closed,
05:57and will be closed, I mean, Saturday,
05:58as part of these preventative measures.
06:01And what are the protests actually saying ahead of Saturday?
06:07Well, lots of people are angry at bans on demonstrations,
06:11so only major trade unions will be able to organise protests.
06:16Only official organisations are allowed to march.
06:20So there's been criticism from lawyers who say that this is not within the government's remit
06:26to implement these kinds of bans.
06:28So there is anger.
06:29Many protesters say that they still want to take to the streets peacefully
06:33and exercise their right to protest.
06:36And this comes as many trade unions have condemned the violence which occurred last weekend.
06:42Some fear that the police will also use disproportionate brutality
06:48as they have been given clear instructions to prevent any looting or outbreaks of violence.
06:54And just finally, Estelle, how are local businesses coping?
06:59Yes, so I've spoken to many businesses on the ground,
07:02and it's fair to say that they are all very worried.
07:05They told me that they don't quite know what to do Saturday, tomorrow.
07:09They don't know if they should stay in their businesses
07:11and sort of guard their shops or whether they should shut.
07:14Some told me that they were going to board their businesses with wooden planks tonight.
07:19But they also told me that there is a strong sense of community,
07:23that they've been communicating via WhatsApp groups,
07:26and that they will be in constant contact to ensure that they have each other
07:31should the police not be able to help them
07:33and should they be left alone as they were last weekend.
07:38OK, Estelle, Nils and Julian, then, on how Paris is bracing for that weekend.
07:42Thank you so much for your live broadcast there.
07:44And now for the view from the country's biggest student union.
07:48We're joined now by Alice de Priteau.
07:51She's the vice president of UNEF.
07:53Good morning.
07:53Thank you so much for joining us here on Europe Today.
07:56Just tell us, why are you taking to the streets again this weekend?
08:01Well, we are taking on the streets again because we didn't have any answer from the government.
08:07We had the president that gave a speech in the beginning of the week.
08:13He spoke about the riots.
08:15He spoke about the police officers.
08:18And he didn't have a word for everyone that was out on the streets for four weeks now.
08:23And we haven't been received by the prime minister as promised.
08:28So we just didn't have any answers this week about why we have been going now to the streets in
08:34four weeks.
08:35And what is the government going to do?
08:38And that's the thing.
08:39The violence has really overshadowed your movement.
08:41Just tell our viewers, what is it like being a student today in France?
08:44How bad is it?
08:48Well, the first thing is when you finish high school,
08:54you have to go to Parcoursup and in this platform we tell you you can't go to university
09:01because we don't have any space for you and you're not good enough, which is really violent.
09:07And we have great classrooms.
09:10We don't have classes that are adapted to climate change.
09:15So it's really hot in the summer and really cold in the winters.
09:18We sometimes don't have any teachers.
09:22In the majority of the time, actually, we don't have any teachers.
09:25We lack medical staff.
09:28And we have globally the student poverty in France that is really increasing.
09:33That has been increasing for years.
09:35And we have so many young people and so many students that just can't pay the rent
09:40or eat at the end of the month or take care of themselves.
09:45But that's just really all the thing.
09:49And the life conditions and the steady conditions are just really, really poor.
09:54And of course, elections are coming next April.
09:57How are you feeling about those?
09:58And does any political party give you hope for your future
10:01and someone who can address all those issues that you've just mentioned?
10:05Well, no, because I'm a union member.
10:10So obviously, I'm not voting for any party.
10:15I'm just we are saying that if we either case in either cases, we are going out in the streets.
10:22Because if it's someone that's saying that they are going to do something,
10:26well, we are going to be out on the streets to ensure that they are going to do what they
10:32promised.
10:33And if it's someone that is not in our values or if our rights, to be honest,
10:40we are going to be out on the streets protesting against their programs and their values.
10:44OK, Alisa Prito, thank you so much for joining us and sharing your views with us here on Europe Today.
10:51The riots in France have reignited a highly politicised debate over migration
10:56and exposed deep divisions between EU leaders.
10:59Emmanuel Macron hit back at many of those leaders for commenting on the unrest
11:03and blaming migrants for it.
11:05The topic sparked a heated exchange between Poland's Donald Tusk and Spain's Pedro Sanchez
11:10at last week's EU summit here in Brussels, with Warsaw pushing for tougher EU migration rules.
11:16To discuss this more, I'm joined now by Minister Maciej Duczyk,
11:19Polish Deputy Interior Minister responsible for migration policy.
11:23Good morning, Minister. Lovely to have you with us here on the show. Thank you.
11:26So Macron has been accusing leaders of making, quote,
11:29stupid comments about France's riots.
11:31Is migration being exploited here for political gain?
11:35Good morning from Warsaw and thank you very much for this very kind invitation.
11:39Of course, this is over the Europe.
11:41This is, I think, one of the most politicised issues now.
11:45But, of course, we are trying to find a proper solution
11:48how we should respond to the current challenges
11:51because, you know, these migraine challenges are changing now very fast.
11:56Especially, we started the discussion about new solutions after the Ceuta,
12:00but we had in Poland in 2021 very similar situation,
12:04very close to the Polish border crossing point with Belarus in Kuznica.
12:07But also, we have the unstable situation, for example,
12:10at the border between Greece and Turkey.
12:13That's why I think so, there's also the Polish position is we should start the new discussion
12:18about how we should react on the migration challenges.
12:21And on that, Donald Tusk says Poland will not be paying for other countries' mistakes.
12:26Which mistakes is he referring to? What does he mean there?
12:29You know, for example, if we see, of course, this is the disturbing photos and videos,
12:34for example, of the Ceuta when hundreds of people,
12:36thousands of people try to cross illegally the border with Spain and Ceuta.
12:41But also, you know, the riots in the French cities, but also in Italy.
12:45It is disturbing for now.
12:47It is also the picture of migrants and migration.
12:51That's why it is not maybe the mistake of the migration policy.
12:56This is the problem of integration, of course, of the second generation.
12:59Because also, for example, yesterday I had the conversation with Polish parliament
13:03to try to also to a little bit explain the situation.
13:06And all of the people, for example, also to destroy the Paris streets,
13:14I think so, 99% of them had the French citizenship.
13:19They are French.
13:20That's why, you know, this is the problem of integration policy.
13:23But of course, we learn a lot from the different mistakes,
13:25but also from what such countries did properly.
13:30That's why I think so is this quite strong words.
13:35But our position is, yes, we should start again the discussion
13:40about how we can properly respond to the current migration challenges.
13:44And is Poland expecting to be exempt from the solidarity clause
13:47in the EU migration pact?
13:49You know, of course, we are waiting now for the report from the Commission.
13:52We sent all of the data to the European Commission.
13:56And I know that this report will be accepted by the Collegium of Commissioners
14:00on the 4th of November.
14:02But yesterday, yes, we got in Polish media, it was deeply discussed this issue.
14:07And, you know, this is the question about the methodology, of course.
14:09And I know quite well that after our also the strong negotiation
14:13with the member states and the commission last year,
14:16into the methodology how we can, you know, provide the different roles
14:21or the different positions of different countries,
14:22we included, after the decision of all member states,
14:26also the presence of Ukrainians in member states.
14:28I would like to also to remind you that we have still 1 million
14:31of war refugees from Ukraine, the territory of Poland,
14:34but also the pressure, this hybrid warfare against the European Union
14:40orchestrated by Belarus and Russia.
14:43We protect our border.
14:44We deployed more than 11,000 of soldiers to protect European Union borders.
14:48That's why we are also absolutely more than happy that all this methodology,
14:53these two very important indicators have been implemented to methodology,
14:57that we are, to be honest, calm.
15:00We are waiting very peaceful to the European Commission.
15:04But still, I would like to stress that we are waiting for the last decision
15:09from the European Commission.
15:10Minister Matsučić, thank you so much for joining us here this morning.
15:13And we can move on now to Serbia,
15:15where grassroots student-led movements could actually shake up Serbia's political landscape.
15:20After two years of protest, the students are running under the student list
15:23in this weekend's snap parliamentary elections,
15:26with the aim of putting an end to 14 years of Aleksandr Vucic.
15:30For analysis, I'm joined here on set now by Berta López-Dominic
15:33from the European Policy Centre.
15:35Good morning.
15:35So tell us what's at stake in these elections
15:37that are being very closely watched by Brussels.
15:40Good morning.
15:40Thank you for having me.
15:41And these elections have been framed as a referendum for the future of Serbia
15:46and for the future of the existing regime of the Serbian Progressive Party,
15:51which has been in power since 2012.
15:53On the one hand, we have the SNS, which is running with Vucic,
15:57who was the president recently,
15:59and he resigned in order to be able to run for the parliamentary election.
16:04And on the other hand, we have the student list,
16:06which is the result of this movement that has been created in these two years of protests.
16:12They've managed to gather huge supports across the country with a very simple programme,
16:16which is basically restoring democratic institutions,
16:18and then on the other hand, tackling specific material demands,
16:22such as housing, health, labour, etc.
16:26And we saw the pictures last night from Belgrade.
16:28I mean, astonishing how many people they've managed to bring together.
16:30But the question, of course, we're all asking,
16:32could they actually topple and oust a leader who's been in power for over 14 years?
16:37Indeed, like in these past two years,
16:39we've seen the biggest, the largest protests in Serbia since, like in this century.
16:44Of course, whether they will manage to topple Vucic or not,
16:48we will not know until next week when we have the results.
16:51But what is true is that it's the first time in 14 years that an alternative to Vucic has real
16:59options.
17:01For now, all opinion polls predict a very tight result.
17:05Like there are some that give a slighter margin of victory for the students.
17:09There are some that give a slight margin of victory for SNS.
17:12But all of them are very tight.
17:13And participation is expected to be very high.
17:15And what ticket are they running on, the students?
17:18What issues are they putting out there?
17:19So, as I was mentioning, basically, they have issued an 11 points programme,
17:26which is based on restoring democratic institutions.
17:29So they talk about public procurement and also the judiciary, independence of the police.
17:34And then on the other hand, they also address issues that are important for the entire,
17:38like the entirety of the, that can appeal to the general population,
17:41such as housing, access to health, access to education, better labour conditions and so on.
17:47And meanwhile, Berta, just one final question.
17:50Serbia's path towards the European Union is slightly on hold for now.
17:54Yeah, Serbia's EU path has been on hold since 2021.
17:58Since then, there has been no progress in Serbia's EU path.
18:02And this has been mainly due to the lack of progress in the fundamentals in Cluster 1,
18:07which is related to democratic institutions, rule of law, public procurement, public administration.
18:14And in fact, Serbia, despite meeting some of the technical conditions for making progress,
18:19since there's no progress, and there has even been backsliding in these fundamental issues,
18:23Serbia's EU path has been kept on hold.
18:25And the students, despite they have not declared themselves explicitly as pro-EU,
18:31and in fact, they've put the Serbia's EU future as something to be decided in the future,
18:37their demands and what they are advocating for, they align with what the EU has been demanding of Serbia.
18:42Okay, EU enlargement.
18:43A fascinating topic that we'll dive into at our EU enlargement summit taking place on the 3rd of November.
18:47Berta, thank you so much.
18:48Thank you so much.
18:49For joining us.
18:50And that does bring this edition of Europe Today to an end.
18:54It will be a busy weekend, though, of elections in Bulgaria, Serbia,
18:57and also hugely consequential elections in Brazil.
18:59So do visit Euronews.com to follow them.
19:02But that brings this Friday's edition of Europe Today to an end.
19:05Before signing off, just a personal note.
19:08Today marks my last day hosting Europe Today.
19:11A huge word of thanks to all those behind the scenes here at Euronews,
19:15all the incredible colleagues from all the corners of Europe and beyond.
19:18It has been an honour to work side by side with you all.
19:21And a huge thanks to you for watching.
19:24Thank you so much for your trust, your loyalty, and for always tuning in.
19:28Take care.
19:28See you soon.
19:29And bye from Brussels.