From: Exit Staff
Protests Sweep Albania for Fourth Day in a Row

For the fourth day in a row, Albanians have taken to the streets to protest the rapid increase in living costs, including the soaring prices of fuel and consumer goods.

On the morning of Saturday, March 12, thousands of citizens marched to the Prime Minister’s Office, filling Tirana’s main boulevard end-to-end.

Protestors marched with a yellow banner with the slogan “Stop stealing from us.”

Across Albania, students, taxi drivers, firefighters, and farmers have staged several rallies to protest their work conditions and the impact that rising prices have on their lives and businesses.

Protestors call on the Albanian government, and Prime Minister Edi Rama specifically, to implement measures to curb inflation and help Albanian families and businesses.

Earlier this week, the price of petrol and gas in Albania reached the highest levels in Europe, despite the country being one of the continent’s poorest nations.

On Thursday night, as citizens protested, Rama was absolute that the state could not control energy prices. He stated on social media that the government had not done this since communist times.

“Oil is a commodity in the free market, and the government has relinquished control of the market price since 1990. The state does not set commodity prices. The state can not decide and can not impose prices”, said Rama.

As protests continued however, the Prime Minister was forced to change his position. On Friday, he announced that a national board would decide the price of fuels at the pumps. Anyone found violating the approved prices will face the closure of their business.

Nevertheless, protests are still ongoing in Tirana and other cities around Albania as citizens demand higher taxes for oligarchs and lower food prices on consumer goods.