Fertilizer farmers and right-wing extremists made Western Europe unviable last year
Western Europe, historically the world’s most populous region, has come under fire this year amid a series of disruptive protests that have seen dung dumped on French streets and right-wing extremists attack immigrants.
According to the latest Livability Index of the Economist Intelligence Unit, the “livability” of Western Europe has decreased by 0.3 points compared to the previous year, a significant decrease among the rated areas.
The think tank highlighted the increasing incidence of protests in the west of the continent as a major reason for the decline, with many sources choosing to exercise their democratic rights in the past year.
Protests rock Europe
French farmers are making headlines with a series of protests as rising inflation forces them to push back against perceived low wages and excessive bureaucracy from Brussels.
Farmers built roadblocks on routes to Paris, dumped piles of compost in the southwestern city of Toulouse, and threw eggs and beer bottles at police to get approval from the EU earlier this year.
Those protests spread across the continent to countries like Germany, Poland, and Spain, disrupting the daily lives of millions of European citizens.
Right-wing anti-immigration protests rocked parts of Europe historically known for peace and liberalism. In November last year, Dublin experienced riots following the stabbing of three children by a suspected foreigner.
The outbreak prompted Elon Musk to step in and make harsh comments about Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar.
The decline in Western Europe came with a slight increase in global occupancy, partly due to a large increase in the Gulf region.
“Life on earth increased slightly last year, but risks to sustainability remain. “Remaining high inflation coupled with high interest rates and other economic headwinds have led to another year of general protests around the world,” said Barsali Bhattacharyya, deputy director of industry at EIU.
“Dissatisfaction with government policies from agriculture to immigration has been accompanied by the rise of racism in many countries as the record number of people voting in national elections.”
The EIU rankings consider sustainability, health care, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure to determine the world’s best cities.
While Western Europe suffered from protests, cities in the region continued to rule. Vienna has been ranked as the EIU’s most liveable city for the third year running, receiving perfect scores on all metrics except culture and location.
European cities take each of the top three in this year’s rankings. But as happened last year, there is no space for American cities in the top 10.
Tel Aviv took a major hit after Israel went to war with Hamas following the October 7 attack. The capital decreased by 20 places compared to last year.
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