Strikes and blockades by truckers in Southern Italy this week have left many supermarket shelves bare. Those strikes and blockades in the south were matched by protests, which turned to riots in the north. Both movements were protesting the same issue: affordability. In the north, students marched against low wages, high taxes, and quickly rising grocery and fuel costs. In the south, farmers and truckers have blockaded ports and highways in protest of those same high fuel costs.

The high costs are associated with fuel shortages stemming from the war in Iran, and, on Thursday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government announced the equivalent of $200 million to cover gas prices. Meloni’s government has already spent the equivalent of $3 billion to lower or offset gas prices this year.

But Italy’s protest movement is only part of the global story. Protests in France have resulted in major government intervention. Albanian students are protesting governmental corruption and the high cost of living. Bolivia has seen longstanding protests against rising fuel costs as well. Around the world, protest movements are heating up largely due to governmental corruption in conjunction to rising fuel and food costs associated with the war in Iran.

Sam Stone, Bon Appitit