Thousands rally in Tirana demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama's resignation

On Saturday, thousands marched through Tirana, chanting for the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama and highlighting issues of corruption and inadequate schooling. Security forces dispersed the crowd using tear gas, water cannons and rubber-bullet fire after a group hurled stones at the Ministry of Education. The protest, which has persisted for more than 130 days, gained fresh momentum in mid-October with the involvement of high-school pupils and university students, and has expanded to demand the scrapping of a real-estate and tourism project tied to Jared Kushner, as well as revisions to laws protecting natural areas.

Several shops in the capital closed, some displaying messages of support for the demonstrators. Rama appealed for calm, labeling the recent clashes as "intolerable" and attributing them to an externally driven hybrid conflict. Both the ruling party and the main opposition, the Democratic Party, faced criticism from protesters, who also shouted against opposition leader Sali Berisha.