Demonstrators gather outside the Ministry of Education on Rruga e Durrësit during the first day of student protests.
A leaflet announcing the first student protest in front of the Ministry of Education.
Four young women activists stand against the force of a water cannon as a man steps forward to shield them from the water on Rruga e Durrësit, Tirana.
Two men stand as students begin throwing eggs and stones at the Ministry of Education.
Police use water cannons to disperse demonstrators outside the Ministry of Education as students open umbrellas to protect themselves from the water.
A student addresses demonstrators through a megaphone during a march towards the Ministry of Education.
Students remove a tear gas canister from the crowd and throw it away from the demonstrators.
A woman wearing a T-shirt printed with flamingos and protective glasses shields her face from tear gas, holding her scarf over her nose and mouth.
A street sign uprooted by demonstrators bears the words “Your End Has Come,” one of the main slogans used by protesters since the beginning of the Flamingo Revolution, referring to the country's political establishment.
Students move away from tear gas during the protest.
A tree is enveloped in smoke from a burning rubbish bin near the Pyramid of Tirana.
The remains of the first streetlight set on fire during the protest.
A shop burns at the beginning of Rruga e Durrësit as a man sits nearby, smoking a cigarette.
A municipal sanitation worker removes ash from a large fire where demonstrators burned rubbish bins and benches at the entrance to Skanderbeg Square, near Rruga e Durrësit.
Demonstrators confront tear gas as they use rubbish bins to contain or isolate the gas.
A young woman covers her face with a blue scarf to protect herself from tear gas.
A student stands in front of police holding an umbrella as water sprays overhead.
A group of students stand on top of a rubbish bin, waving Albanian and Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA/UÇK) flags.
Students gather near the Pyramid of Tirana shortly after marching from the Ministry of Education towards the Prime Minister’s Office.
Three tear gas canisters fly over demonstrators heading towards the headquarters of the governing Socialist Party.
A man wearing traditional Albanian clothing and carrying the Albanian flag walks away from tear gas on Rruga e Durrësit.
Two students stand close together as clashes between police and demonstrators intensify along the boulevard in front of the Prime Minister’s Office.
A demonstrator raises a police shield seized from officers in a gesture of celebration.
The boulevard is engulfed in tear gas as demonstrators throw a tear gas canister back towards police.
Police fire chemically treated blue water from a water cannon at students along Dëshmorët e Kombit Boulevard in Tirana.
A student covers herself with a raincoat as police use water cannons against demonstrators.
Demonstrators throw stones taken from the boulevard towards police officers in front of the Prime Minister’s Office.
A streetlight burns near a banner and a high-rise tower under construction in central Tirana. The building reflects one of the protesters’ grievances: the rising cost of housing and the growing difficulty young people face in affording rent or buying
The boulevard fills with students and other demonstrators on the third day of protests.
A mannequin burns on a street in Tirana. Some demonstrators use it as a symbol of the rejection of Prime Minister Edi Rama’s cult of personality.
A demonstrator holds a stone moments before throwing it towards the Prime Minister’s Office.
A police officer walks through tear gas and stones thrown by demonstrators, holding a tear gas launcher ready to fire.
A first-aid volunteer runs towards demonstrators to assist those affected by tear gas.
A bus stop burns in Tirana, marked with the word “Revolution” and the symbol of the Flamingo Revolution.
A student throws stones amid fireworks during clashes with police.
A young teenager watches the intense confrontation between police and demonstrators, as water cannons are deployed along the boulevard.
Water from a police cannon strikes demonstrators as they move through the spray along the boulevard.
Two police officers are engulfed in flames moments after demonstrators throw a Molotov cocktail towards them.
Two officers from RENEA, Albania’s special intervention unit, fire rubber bullets towards demonstrators.
A detail of a Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA/UÇK) flag, riddled with holes and damaged during the protests.
Two widely recognised demonstrators form heart shapes with their hands, conveying a message of love and solidarity.
Demonstrators throw fireworks towards police officers.
A red flare strikes a water cannon, leaving a trail of smoke.
Chairs burn during the protests. Some demonstrators use the burning chairs as a symbol of their demand for politicians to resign, accusing them of prioritising their positions over the public interest.
A demonstrator applauds after fireworks thrown by protesters force police officers to step back.
Tear gas fills the area in front of the Ministry of Internal Affairs as police attempt to disperse the crowd.
A police officer’s face is partially visible behind a shield moments before officers begin dispersing demonstrators near the Albanian Parliament.
A woman covers her face with a scarf moments after a stun grenade explodes as police begin deploying the devices against demonstrators.
A demonstrator’s hand is burned while handling a hot tear gas canister removed from the crowd.
Two students embrace, placing their hands over their hearts, a gesture that has become a recurring symbol of the protests and their circulation on social media.

Student Protests III

The October 2026 demonstrations mark the third major wave of historic student uprisings in modern Albanian history, carrying forward a legacy of youth-led defiance that began with the historic December 1990 protests that overthrew the communist regime, and resurfaced during the massive December 2018 university boycotts. 

This latest chapter of resistance officially began on October 13, 2026, when thousands of university students boycotted classes and marched into the streets of Tirana. This movement did not emerge in a vacuum; it directly inherited the momentum and activist infrastructure of the "Flamingo Revolution," a historic 135-day environmental protest campaign over the summer that opposed high-end luxury real estate developments in protected coastal areas. Transitioning from environmental defense to academic revolt, the students mobilized against a severe domestic crisis characterized by decaying campus infrastructure, skyrocketing tuition fees, and a systemic lack of domestic job opportunities that continues to drive mass youth emigration.
What began as a student movement demanding better conditions in higher education soon evolved into a broader expression of political dissent in Albania. In the streets of Tirana, demonstrations became a confrontation between citizens demanding accountability and a government increasingly challenged by public discontent.
As tensions escalated, scenes of resistance unfolded alongside the disproportionate use of force by police, including tear gas, pepper spray, and rubber bullets, allegedly deployed in violation of established regulations. The burning of wooden chairs outside the Prime Minister’s Office became one of the defining images of a protest shaped by mounting frustration, confrontation, and the struggle to be heard.
This photographic series documents more than moments of unrest. It captures the fragile boundary between peaceful assembly and confrontation, the human cost of repression, and the struggle over who gets to occupy public space, challenge authority, and make their voice heard. At its core lies a fundamental question: what happens when the right to protest is met with force rather than accountability?
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