Spain

Madrid, October 19, 2026. The Spanish press is treating the French crisis as a political storm coupled with a financial alert. Expansión, quoting the Financial Times, speaks of "the worst wave of street violence in years", which occurred six months before a presidential election that "Europe will follow more closely". The newspaper recalls that Emmanuel Macron and his minority government, led by Sébastien Lecornu, were already facing a budget battle and weeks of high school protests, that Marine Le Pen is leading the polls, and that the president's popularity has fallen to 15%.

The demonstrations on Saturday, October 17, which brought together students and citizens outraged by the cost of living, degenerated into fires and looting. The Minister of the Interior acknowledged a loss of control in several cities and presented his resignation, which Macron refused. HuffPost España puts the toll at over 2,400 arrested and more than 500 police officers injured, mentions the city hall of Limoges whose roof burned, and notes that Macron is calling for "new modalities of action" while receiving the organizations behind the mobilizations.

ElDiario.es details the response announced on Monday, October 19, after an interministerial meeting. Lecornu is asking the prefectures for partial curfews, "by territory", which he considers "more adapted" than a state of emergency, which he does not exclude. He considers it "a miracle" that there were no deaths, attributes the daytime disorders to "the extreme left" and those at night to "general delinquency", announces a "massive penal response" and 200 investigators in Paris. According to the Ministry of Justice, 2,331 people were in custody at 8 am.

The economic angle weighs heavily. Expansión notes that the French 10-year rate jumped by more than 10 basis points in the session, to 4.90%, near its highs since 2002, and that the risk premium against Germany reaches 146 points. It recalls a forecast growth of 0.4% in 2026, a deficit of 5.4% of GDP, and a debt close to 120%.

On the side of ideas, HuffPost España relays Thomas Piketty's editorial in Le Monde: the student movement "signals the decline of Macronism", with a per-student expenditure that has fallen by around 20% since 2017 and "a matter of distribution".