Global Left Midweek — Europe Reports
- Unions United Against Fascism
- International Student Network Formed
- Mayors
- Italy Erupts Over Police Murder
- Ukraine and Wounded Knee
- Why Britain’s Greens Are on the Rise
- Swiss Vote on Xenophobia
- Unions Press for Heat Stress Rules
- Who’s Protesting in Albania
- French Warning
Demócrata (Madrid)
The Spanish CCOO, together with the French CGT and the Italian CGIL, have signed the “Declaration of Barcelona”, a document that calls for countering new forms of authoritarianism and the rise of the far right through class consciousness, anti-fascism, and internationalist trade unionism.
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International Student Network Formed
Solidaires Étudiant-e-s / Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières (Paris)
An international declaration adopted at the congress of Solidaires Étudiant-e-s (Solidarity Students), held in Saint-Avertin, France, brings together seven student and youth organisations from Canada/Québec, Japan, Poland, Turkey, Ukraine, France, and Belgium. They commit to a shared struggle against austerity in higher education, patriarchal and colonial oppressions, and all forms of imperialism.
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Mayors
Lewisham’s Liam Shrivastava Tim Donovan / On London
Graz’s Elke Kahr Robert Krotzer / Jacobin (Brooklyn)
Saint-Denis’s Bally Bagayoko Angelique Chrisafis / The Guardian (London)
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Italy Erupts Over Police Murder
France 24 (Paris)
Protesters and police clashed in Bologna, Italy on Monday after Moroccan-born entrepreneur Abderrahim Fakir died while being forcibly restrained by police. Widely shared footage of Fakir’s death show police holding the 42-year-old face-down on the ground, where he repeatedly calls for help before falling still.
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John Feffer / Foreign Policy in Focus (Washington DC)
As with the campaigns of conquest against Native Americans—and the massacres of civilians at Wounded Knee, Sand Creek, Bear River, Battle Creek—civilian casualties in Russia’s war are not collateral damage. These deaths are a central objective. The Russian battle strategy is to clear the land of obstacles, current and potential. It is also to sap the public’s will to resist.
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Why Britain’s Greens Are on the Rise
Ceri Fowler and Louise Luxton / The Conversation (Melbourne)
The split on the left in the English electorate is primarily driven by younger, university-educated women who have migrated towards the Greens from Labour. In some ways, supporters of leftwing parties were very similar, especially when compared to Reform or Conservative supporters. Green voters are not primarily motivated by environmental concerns – cost of living is their top issue.
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Roland Erne / Social Europe (Berlin)
On 14 June 2026, Swiss voters went to the polls on a xenophobic popular initiative bearing the title “No to a Switzerland with 10 million! (Sustainability Initiative)”. In the event, 55 per cent of voters rejected the constitutional initiative put forward by the Swiss People’s Party (SVP), partly thanks to a trade-union campaign spanning several decades.
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Unions Press for Heat Stress Rules
Arthur Neslen and Matthew Taylor / The Guardian
As Europe’s sweltering summer continues, trades unions are mounting a push for new laws to counter deadly heat stress that is linked to an estimated 230 workplace deaths a year. They are also calling for rights to heat breaks, outdoor shade, water, cooling and adjusted working hours to be included in a forthcoming quality jobs law.
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Fjori Sinoruka / Balkan Insight (Sarajevo)
“I could not stay away from what was arguably the most significant political event in Albania in the last 35 years, an opportunity to protest, to report and to safeguard our assets: our land and our future. I do not know if this protest will succeed in saving our protected areas, cultural heritage sites, private lands or the private capital of citizens. But I do know that a precedent has been set.”
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Roger Martelli / Regards (Paris)
[Moderator’s note: Please use your search engine’s translator to read this article in English.]
The balance of ideological power is roughly even: a quarter do not support any party, a quarter lean towards the far right, a third towards the left, and a fifth towards the center and right. If we exclude the 24% not affiliated with any party, we even find a situation that suggests the balance of power in terms of values is less unfavorable to the left than the purely electoral balance.