Europe Today: Sánchez calls snap election in Spain as French students protest again

Good morning, it is Tuesday the 6th of October. I'm Maeve McMahon and this is Europe Today. Your daily dose of European news and analysis, live here on Euronews. Coming up, fury in France. Protests over budget cuts continue this Tuesday, with students voicing anger over poor conditions and overcrowding. Some blockades have descended into riots, with one teenager reportedly losing a hand in an explosion. We'll be crossing to Paris for the latest from our correspondents. And deadly drone strike in the Black Sea. Two people have been killed and 11 injured after a cargo ship caught fire off Romania. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says the vessel was hit by Russian drones. The Romanian authorities have yet to confirm the cause. The ship later sank. Meanwhile, plague fears in Russia. The European Union says it's closely monitoring a suspected outbreak in Siberia after the death of one lab worker. Around 200 people who've been in contact with her are now under medical observation, although the Russian authorities have not confirmed any outbreak. But first to Spain, where Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has done it again. In his biggest political gamble yet, Sanchez has called a snap election for November the 29th, calling Spaniards back to the polls earlier than expected. The vote comes amid growing anger over soaring rents and housing costs, and of course continuing scrutiny over the crisis in Ceuta. For the latest, I'm joined here on set by our very own Europe editor, Maria Tadeo. Good morning, Maria. So why now? Well, Maeve, because the Prime Minister, the Spanish Prime Minister believes that there is a path to victory. They believe that they can win this election. The polls right now indicate there isn't one, but there's eight weeks of campaigning still to go. And the entourage of the Prime Minister say that when you look at the timing, and let's be honest, this was a government on its deathbed. This was a government on its final legs with no ability to legislate, no budget. And of course, the ongoing crisis in Ceuta, which has not been resolved, and it's a big failure for the Spanish government. But nonetheless, they do think that the dynamics on the ground seem to be changing. Hopefully, we can put up the pictures on TV. There is a protest movement, which we see now, that is the center, the heart of Madrid over housing, over rents. This is a social justice matter, and the Spanish government believes this is their opportunity at this point. Someone is going to capitalize from the pictures that we are seeing. The campaign, as I say, starts with this backdrop of the housing crisis, but will evolve to into a question. And already we heard that yesterday from the Spanish Prime Minister of there is a right side of history and there is a wrong side of history. You stay on the progressive lane or Spain will go into what they deem will be a reactionary right wing government. This is a Prime Minister who's going to play a tough campaign on a touch or an attack populist note. Again, reinforcing this idea is that ultimately there are two camps. You either stay with him or the opposition will flip it and take back what he argues have been fundamental legislation in the way of progress and social progress. And then the other point is made. Pedro Sanchez is very good on a campaign trail. He is very good when he controls a narrative, but the Spanish government no longer controls that narrative because of that crisis over the summer. So this is a way to reset and now go into a defensive mode. The one thing that I would note, and this is key, is when you look at the polls, the number that really matters is that 50 percent threshold as it stands. If there is a union that is feasible, possible between the mainstream right wing party, Partido Popular, and the further to its right, much harder to its right box, there is no question that they will enter a coalition government. And in fact, the opposition says they are ready for the campaign. And now really, this is a time to vote. And this will have big implications, of course, for Europe. Well, certainly because the Spanish government and Pedro Sanchez, to some extent, they are the face of the left in Europe. He is the one socially progressive left wing prime minister that is still standing in a European Union that is clearly tilting to the right. That is what has made Spanish foreign policy interesting to watch. This is a country that is not in the consensus and is happy of not being in that consensus. When you look at policies on the economic front, but also Palestine, Israel, very combative when it comes to the U.S. President Donald Trump. However, if the government changes, you could get a recalibration in all those big files internationally. What matters, of course, is that Spain has had this outsourced or this bigger than its size would indicate voice in foreign policy because Pedro Sanchez is the faction that represents this whole left. That could change, of course, if you become one of many conservative prime ministers, which is the case right now in the European Council and the European Parliament, which they also hold. Okay, Maria Estella, thank you so much for your analysis. We can now actually take a listen to Pedro Sanchez, who, as you heard, there faces the biggest bet of his life. You, the Spanish people, must decide what role you want to play in this and what role you want Spain to play in it. Do you wish to join this far right wave that is causing regression wherever it governs? Or do you want Spain to remain a fortress of openness, social justice and environmental responsibility? Do you want our country to regress or continue moving forward? And the imminent elections in Spain are, of course, the talk of the town here in Brussels this morning, with many wondering how this will impact EU affairs and daily business here. For more analysis, I'm joined now by Javier Carbonel, Director of Future Policy Lab at the European Policy Centre think tank here in Brussels. Good morning, Javier. Thank you so much for joining us. So the countdown is on to these elections and we're seeing now, you know, the Pepe doing very well in the polls, the Vox also gaining ground. What does that tell us about the political mood in Spain? I mean, the political mood in Spain is not so different than the political mood anywhere else in Europe. I mean, there's this big anti-incumbency, anti-establishment sentiment. Pedro Sánchez has been in government for nearly eight years, which means that, you know, that's a lot of time to become part of the establishment, of course. And so there's, of course, some things that are specific to Spain. So Spain is doing very well in unemployment or economic growth, but it's doing very badly in housing. But in general, it's not so different than the rest of, you know, the European sentiment, which is pretty, pretty against politicians. And what would a Pepe Vox government actually mean for Spain's domestic policies? So in domestic policies, what we can expect, for example, in terms of housing, is a much more market-based approach to these kind of measures. We would, of course, see a much more tougher position on migration. So Vox is a very kind of anti-EU, anti-gender, anti-green and anti-migration party. So in this sense, we would see a tougher position on migration and increasing defence spending, for example. So it would definitely be against Sánchez's policies in a lot of respects. And was Pedro Sánchez right, do you think, to call this election now? Well, that's a good question. We don't know. But I will say something. If I were an advisor to the Socialist Party two weeks ago, I would have never told them to open with housing elements. So this would be probably one of the biggest policy failures of this administration. And now it's most kind of election kind of claim, right? So he was able to convert a weakness into a strength. Will this be enough? We do not know. But at least this kind of tells us something about Sánchez's political mastery to turn difficult situations on their head. And this, of course, would have major implications for Europe, these elections. How could EU policy be impacted and daily business here? So I think the main issue is that Spain would probably come back to the, again, right-wing consensus that Europe is having at the moment. So in terms of migration, in terms of defence spending, Sánchez was definitely outside of the consensus and he will probably fold there. I think also a big issue is the budget. So Spain is one of the pro-European, also pro-increasing the budget of the EU. And I don't think that a PPVox government with a far-right party and FIJO, who's not really focused on EU and international politics, is more focused on domestic politics, would really press for an increasing EU budget. And we've heard EU diplomats this morning saying already it's becoming a distraction because, of course, there's so much that needs to get done, even the long-term budget as well, which is currently under discussion here. Well, yeah, I mean, every election is a distraction and every election always comes at a difficult moment where difficult decisions have to be made. So I think this is kind of normal on a day-to-day. But I think Sánchez was definitely thinking about, you know, this big housing crisis and what would be more electoral successful for him. And that's why he called the elections. And I think that's what, you know, to be honest, any politician would do. And just a final point on that housing, because housing is also being discussed and debated in the European Parliament today because the EU is finally rolling out this EU affordable housing. How critical is the situation in Spain now for young people? So it's pretty critical, especially for young people. Again, this is not something that is particular to Spain, but it's definitely more problematic in Spain. Also, we have a big concentration of economic growth in the big cities, which means that these are extremely well, you know, occupied. And also there's a big issue in Spain, which is that it is sunny and it's an attractive country, which means that we have a lot of, you know, northern European people coming to Spain with higher salaries, which means that sometimes the locals can be priced out, especially in cities like Barcelona or Valencia and in the coast. So there are some specificities about Spain's housing crisis, but to be honest, it's broadly shared with the rest of Europe. OK, Javier Carbonell from the European People's, the European Policy Centre, think tank here in Brussels. Thank you so much for your analysis. Now, that housing crisis in Spain will be up for debate in Strasbourg today with MEPs looking into the fact that house prices have risen by over 60 percent in the past decade and costs are putting growing pressure on households, not just in Spain, but all across Europe. As I said there, Brussels is rolling out a so-called affordable housing plan and the EU has appointed a commissioner responsible for housing. We can take a listen to him now. Dan Jorgensen speaking to Euronews. We see normal people with normal jobs not being able to find a place to live, being crowded out of the cities where they serve as police officers, nurses and teachers and so on. So this is totally unacceptable and we need to act because if you don't have room over your head, if you don't have opportunity to find a place to live, then for instance young people are not able to start a family. It is, I would say, actually an emergency. And for more on that housing emergency, as it's been coined there by the European Commission, you can visit our website Euronews.com. But now we can head to France where secondary school students are gearing up for another major day of protests. They're calling for better conditions, more teachers and resources. In recent weeks we've seen a number of protests erupt into violent clashes, leaving hundreds injured and thousands arrested. We can head now to Paris and bring in Estelle Nielsen-Julian who's outside a school there. Estelle, good to see you there. Just tell us what is the latest this Tuesday morning? Good morning, Maeve, from the heart of Paris where students will shortly begin filing into this school behind me for what has been branded as Act 3 of the protests. I've been trying to work out what's been going on since I've been set up here. I've seen students drag bins away, drag barriers. And I'm just five minutes away from the Place de la République where a major protest is planned for later today. So perhaps students are gearing themselves up for that already. The mass protests, of course, did not start in the heart of Paris. They began in the suburbs, in Crite, but they've grown into a nationwide movement. And students are pushing a long list of grievances. So they're calling for smaller class sizes, for their buildings to be renovated, and also for teacher absences to be sorted out. We've seen lots of peaceful protests, but also some violent clashes between police and students. But there's also been an infrontation from rioters. And there's a worry that these rioters are going to make the situation even tense today. Well, indeed, Estelle, because they did start as peaceful protests, but they've been hijacked by violence. Tell us more about the actual levels of violence we've seen over the last couple of days all across France. Well, we've seen some cases which have shocked the nation. A schoolboy lost his eye due to what is believed to have been a police rubber bullet. We also heard a story of another schoolboy who lost his hand after he is believed to have picked up a police grenade. In terms of injuries, we're talking about more than 215 injured pupils, 78 school staff, and around 700 police officers. I spoke to a police union yesterday to ask them what they made of this violence. And they were very much on the defensive, stating that they had only used force where legitimate, and that investigations would reveal whether it was required or not. This comes after rights groups have criticised police forces in France for what they deem as unnecessary use of force. And how are teachers feeling about the situation? It's clearly very disruptive to the academic year. Yeah, so I spoke to the head of a teacher's union yesterday. He told me that every day alongside his colleagues, he's going outside schools to make sure that the situation remains calm and to defuse any potential tensions. He also told me that as a teacher, he very strongly did not wish the situation to become politicised and urged politicians to not politicise the situation further than it need be. This comes after many in France have accused the hard-left France Unbowed Party of politicising the protests. The question, though, that everyone is asking is how long will this go on for? So trade unions are joining students in a major protest later today. So it remains to see how this will all pan out. Anastasia, the protests have also spilled over here to Belgium, into Bologna. Thank you so much for that live broadcast there, though from Paris. This is a story, of course, we'll be keeping a very close eye on here on Your Own News. But next, one in six, the number of female EU lawmakers now found to be victims of deepfake and AI-generated sexual violence. That's according to a major new investigation by Over 100 MEPs have sent a letter to the European Commission demanding action. For more, we can head over now to Strasbourg, where the Austrian Green MEP, Lena Schilling, is standing by for us this morning. Good morning, Lena. Thank you so much for joining us this morning on Europe Today. You are one of the MEPs affected by this. Just tell us how that made you feel. Good morning. Thank you so much for the invitation and also about speaking about a topic that I think is not covered enough. We're seeing a situation where every sixth woman running for office on the European level is actually the one being attacked by AI deepfakes, which means people were just putting up naked pictures of me on the internet that were fake. And how this feels, I think almost every woman can imagine that this is an immense shock to just recognize that. I was getting this email of Agora, who did that study, and suddenly I saw there are pictures on the internet I never took. And people are just doing that to take my dignity away, but not just mine, but from so many female politicians running. And I think this is just so unacceptable. And what does this kind of digital abuse do to women in politics, like your very self? I think the main point is, we often say to young women, run for office, go into politics, stand up, lead, take a voice. But what we're not talking about is the consequence that this means. It means exposing yourself to a level that is now unseen, because seeing AI deepfake pictures is something that can be really a threat to democracy. Because just imagine, you go into an election and such pictures pop up. Think of young women not in politics, but maybe activists standing up that want to go into politics, and seeing how other political forces, or whoever is doing that, is then creating such pictures of them. That is, in a way, humiliating. That is, I think, unseen. But you say the violence is old, but the method is new. What do you mean by that? And what is it like being a woman in a very male-dominated environment? I think all of us are experiencing violence in one form or the other over our life. We see all of the cases right now also getting big again. We saw Giselle Pellicot, but also a lot of others, and they think what this also means for our society is a structural problem, that violence against women is still a problem. And now in this situation, in a situation where the internet, social media, and digital competence is being bigger and bigger, this is a real, real threat, because people can intrude your own personal space, in a way, without really getting close to you. And that is something that I really... We need to think about that. We need to stop that. On the 2nd of December, there should be the AI Nudifier ban being in action, but for that, we need authorities and the member states that are actually having the resources and the power to also really take action then. And that's why I think this is also very timely, because yes, it's hitting every six women in the European Parliament, but look to the outside world. This can happen to your daughter, to your sister, to every woman in your life. And that's why we need to take immediate action now. And indeed, you've called on the European Commission, you've sent that letter. Have you got a reaction yet? Right now, we are still hoping for a stronger reaction yesterday, and that is really encouraging to see. Roberta Metzeler in the European Parliament that we need to really implement the things we're doing here in this parliament, which means getting force that is actually able to deal with this kind of political and also emotional threats we are right now also experiencing. So I think that is a very tiny first step, but we keep on fighting. Okay, Lena Schilling, Austrian MEP there from the Green Party. Thank you so much for speaking to us this morning live here on Europe Today. And that brings this edition of Europe Today this Tuesday to an end. Thank you so much for your company. As always, any topics you'd like us to dig into or any reactions to anything that we've reported on today, you can write to us Europe Today at Euronews.com. That is our email address. But for now, thank you so much for tuning in. As always, take care and see you soon on Euronews.