Demonstrations against inflation and the rising cost of living, swelled by weeks of student protests, drew about 550,000 people nationwide on October 17 according to the interior ministry, or 800,000 by the CGT union's count, with roughly 400 arrests. Rioters set a tourist office ablaze in Lyon, stormed town halls in Marseille and Limoges, and looted shops in Paris, Marseille, Nice, Bordeaux and Lille. President Macron said there is no room for violence in the Republic and vowed that those who attacked prefectures, businesses and town halls would be prosecuted.
Source:
Euronews · Saturday, 17 October 2026
President Trump signed an executive order on October 17 waiving a new package of sanctions and tariffs on Russia that was due to take effect under the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act he himself signed in September; he cited the national interest and set no end date for the waiver. The law targets Russian banks, officials and shadow-fleet tankers, and places duties on countries still buying Russian oil. The move comes days after Italy's Meloni called Trump's diesel deal with Moscow very risky; in Brussels, President Zelenskyy warned Ukraine cannot accept diesel deals, because gas deals will come next.
Source:
Euronews · Saturday, 17 October 2026
What began as student protests over university fees, poor facilities and limited jobs has grown, after months of separate rallies against a Kushner-linked luxury resort project, into a movement demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama's resignation. Police fired rubber bullets as clashes ran for a fifth consecutive day on October 17; one student, Sinan Billa, said protesters want their rights, their future and a better country. Rama has refused to resign, pledging to protect the right to protest while blaming his conservative opponents for encouraging the violence.
Two Romanian F-16s on air-policing duty shot down two jet-powered Geran-type attack drones on Saturday, October 17, Defence Minister Radu Miruta said: the first entered Romanian airspace around 17:59 and was downed within two minutes about 25 km southeast of Sulina, the second about 20 km east of Sulina six minutes later. The ministry did not name an operator but pointed to Romania's exposure to Russia's war in Ukraine and a rise in drone incidents it believes are linked to the conflict. The jets were scrambled from the 86th air base at Borcea after radar detected several aerial targets.
Source:
Euronews · Saturday, 17 October 2026
