{{Short description|Opposition to austerity measures, especially in Europe}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2015}} The '''anti-austerity movement''' refers to the mobilisation of [[street protest]]s and [[grassroots]] campaigns that has happened across various countries, especially in [[Europe]], since the onset of the worldwide [[Great Recession]].

Anti-[[austerity]] actions are varied and ongoing, and can be either sporadic and loosely organised or longer-term and tightly organised. They continue as of the present day. The global [[Occupy movement]] has arguably been the most noticeable physical enactment of anti-austerity and [[populist]] sentiment.

==Political impact== [[File:2011 Greece Uprising.jpg|thumb|100,000 anti-austerity protesters in front of the [[Hellenic Parliament|Greek parliament]] in 2011]] Since the onset of the [[Great Recession in Europe|economic recession in Europe]], the political establishment response has increasingly focused on austerity: attempts to bring down budget deficits and control the rise of debt.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ssrp.cshss.cam.ac.uk/projects/austerity|title=The consequences of the politics of austerity in the European Union|date=11 September 2014|access-date=14 January 2015|archive-date=19 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119025338/https://www.ssrp.cshss.cam.ac.uk/projects/austerity|url-status=dead}}</ref> The anti-austerity movement has responded by giving rise to a wave of anti-establishment political parties.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/apr/27/anti-austerity-movements-europe|title=Anti-austerity movements gaining momentum across Europe|date=27 April 2012|access-date=14 January 2015|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref> Opposition to austerity is seen as the force behind the rise of [[Podemos (Spanish political party)|Podemos]] in Spain, Italy's [[Five Star Movement]] and the [[Syriza]] party in Greece.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/out-of-the-fringe-and-into-the-spotlight-european-austerity-breeds-radical-politics/article21462957/|title=From fringe to spotlight: European austerity breeds radical politics|date=5 November 2014|access-date=14 January 2015|newspaper=The Globe and Mail}}</ref>

Ahead of the [[2014 Scottish independence referendum|Scottish independence referendum]] in 2014, the [[Scottish Government]] pledged to end austerity in an independent Scotland.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-27868468|title=Scottish independence: Post-Yes Scotland 'to end austerity'|date=16 June 2014|access-date=14 January 2015|work=BBC News}}</ref>

Economist [[Thomas Piketty]] welcomed the political reaction to austerity, saying the rise of anti-austerity parties is "good news for Europe". According to Piketty, European countries tried to get rid of their deficits too quickly, resulting in a situation where "their citizens have suffered the consequences in the shape of austerity policies. It's good to reduce deficits, but at a rate that's commensurate with growth and economic recovery, but here growth has been killed off."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jan/12/thomas-piketty-austerity-europe-greece-spain|title=Thomas Piketty: rise of anti-austerity parties good news for Europe|date=12 January 2015|access-date=14 January 2015|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref>

==Examples== {{More citations needed section|date=July 2021}} * The global [[Occupy movement]]. * The [[2010–2011 Greek protests|May–July 2011 Greek protests]], also known as the "Indignant Citizens Movement" or the "Greek indignados", started demonstrating throughout Greece on 25 May 2011;<ref name="SKAI xnaria">{{cite web |url=http://www.skai.gr/news/greece/article/170468/oi-aganaktismenoi-diadilonoun-stis-ellinikes-poleis-/ |title=Στα χνάρια των Ισπανών αγανακτισμένων (On the footsteps of the Spanish 'indignados') |language=el |date=26 May 2011 |publisher=skai.gr |access-date=26 May 2011}}</ref> the movement's largest demonstration was on 5 June, with 300,000 people gathering in front of the [[Greek Parliament]],<ref name="Proto Thema 5">{{cite web |url=http://www.protothema.gr/greece/article/?aid=126165 |title=300.000 πολίτες στο κέντρο της Αθήνας! |language=el |date=5 June 2011 |publisher=skai.gr |access-date=5 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607021837/http://www.protothema.gr/greece/article/?aid=126165 |archive-date=7 June 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> while the organizers put the number to 500,000.<ref name="Skai 5">{{cite web |url=http://www.skai.gr/news/greece/article/171424/aganaktismenoi-protofanis-summetohi-se-athina-kai-alles-poleis-/ |script-title=el:"Αγανακτισμένοι": Πρωτοφανής συμμετοχή σε Αθήνα και άλλες πόλεις |language=el |date=5 June 2011 |publisher=skai.gr |access-date=5 June 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110717160132/http://www.skai.gr/news/greece/article/171424/aganaktismenoi-protofanis-summetohi-se-athina-kai-alles-poleis-/| archive-date= 17 July 2011 | url-status= live}}</ref> The protests lasted for over a month without any violent incidents, while on 29 June 2011, amid a violent police crackdown and accusations of [[police brutality]] by international media and [[Amnesty International]],<ref name="BBC police brutality">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13960947 |title=Greece passes key austerity vote |work=bbc.co.uk |access-date=29 June 2011 |date=29 June 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110630043411/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-13960947| archive-date= 30 June 2011 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref name="Guardian police brutality">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/blog/2011/jun/29/greece-austerity-vote-demonstrations#block-35 |title=Greece austerity vote and demonstrations - Wednesday 29 June 2011 |work=guardian.co.uk |access-date=1 July 2011 |location=London |first1=Haroon |last1=Siddique |first2=David |last2=Batty |date=29 June 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110629112740/http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/jun/29/greece-austerity-vote-demonstrations| archive-date= 29 June 2011 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref name="Guardian police brutality 2">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jul/01/greek-police-investigation-protest-violence |title=Greek police face investigation after protest violence |work=guardian.co.uk |access-date=3 July 2011 |location=London |first=Helena |last=Smith |date=1 July 2011}}</ref><ref name="Amnesty International police brutality">{{cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/tear-gas-fired-greek-police-clash-athens-protesters-2011-06-29 |title=TEAR GAS FIRED AS GREEK POLICE CLASH WITH ATHENS PROTESTERS |publisher=amnesty.org |access-date=30 June 2011}}</ref><ref name="Amnesty International police brutality2">{{cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-releases/greece-urged-not-use-excessive-force-during-protests-2011-06-16 |title=GREECE URGED NOT TO USE EXCESSIVE FORCE DURING PROTESTS |publisher=amnesty.org |access-date=30 June 2011}}</ref><ref name="CNN iReport">{{cite news |url=http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-628589?ref=feeds%2Foncnn |title=Back when peaceful demonstrations in Greece were massive and meaningful... |publisher=ireport.cnn.com |access-date=3 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120329064451/http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-628589?ref=feeds%2Foncnn |archive-date=29 March 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="NYT">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/30/world/europe/30athens.html?_r=1&ref=policebrutalityandmisconduct |title=Violent Clashes in the Streets of Athens |newspaper=nytimes.com |access-date=3 July 2011 |first1=Rachel |last1=Donadio |first2=Scott |last2=Sayare |date=29 June 2011}}</ref> the square was evacuated but demonstrations continued the next day despite the crackdown;<ref name="Agelioforos 30 June">{{cite web|url=http://www.agelioforos.gr/default.asp?pid=7&ct=1&artid=100228 |script-title=el:Επιστρέφουν στην Πλατεία Συντάγματος οι Αγανακτισμένοι για να εμποδίσουν την ψήφιση του βασικού εφαρμοστικού νόμου |access-date=30 June 2011 |language=el |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005083720/http://www.agelioforos.gr/default.asp?pid=7&ct=1&artid=100228 |archive-date=5 October 2011 |df=dmy }}</ref><ref name="Skai 30 June">{{cite web |url=http://www.skai.gr/player/TV/?MMID=216027 |script-title=el:Πλήγμα για την Ελλάδα το βομβαρδισμένο κέντρο |access-date=30 June 2011 |language=el}}</ref> they officially ended on 7 August 2011,<ref name="Proto Thema 7 Avgoustou">{{cite web |url=http://www.protothema.gr/greece/article/?aid=138427 |title=Απομακρύνθηκαν οι "Αγανακτισμένοι" από τον Λευκό Πύργο |publisher=protothema.gr |access-date=9 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002005201/http://www.protothema.gr/greece/article/?aid=138427 |archive-date=2 October 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> but resumed in October. * The [[2011 Spanish protests]], whose participants are sometimes referred to as the "''indignados''", are a series of ongoing anti-austerity demonstrations in [[Spain]] that rose to prominence beginning on 15 May 2011; thus, the movement is also sometimes referred to as the ''May 15'' or ''M-15'' movement as well. It is a collection of several different instances of continuous demonstrations countrywide, with a common origin in internet [[social networks]] and the [[Democracia Real Ya]] web presence, along with 200 other small associations.<ref name="art1">{{cite news|url=http://politica.elpais.com/politica/2011/05/16/actualidad/1305578500_751064.html |title=Movimiento 15-M: los ciudadanos exigen reconstruir la política (15-M Movement: citizens demand political reconstruction) |newspaper=El País |publisher=Politica.elpais.com |date=2011-05-17 |access-date=2011-05-22| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110522114151/http://politica.elpais.com/politica/2011/05/16/actualidad/1305578500_751064.html| archive-date= 22 May 2011 | url-status= live|last1=Alcaide |first1=Soledad }}</ref> * In late March 2011 the Portuguese Prime Minister resigned a few hours after the latest austerity bill he backed was rejected by the rest of government. The government called that particular austerity round unacceptable.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12841492 | work=BBC News | title=Portugal PM Jose Socrates resigns after budget rejected | date=23 March 2011}}</ref> In his resignation speech, [[José Sócrates]] expressed concern that an IMF bailout akin to Greece and Ireland would now be unavoidable. * In mid-March 2011 the [[British Medical Association]] held an emergency meeting at which it broadly decided to emphatically oppose pending legislation in the [[British Parliament]], the [[Health and Social Care Bill 2011|Health and Social Care Bill]], that would overhaul the functioning of the [[National Health Service]]. Dr Layla Jader, a public health physician, said: "The NHS needs evolution not revolution - these reforms are very threatening to the future of the NHS. If they go through, our children will look back and say how could you allow this to happen?" And Dr Barry Miller, an anaesthetist from [[Bolton]], added: "The potential to do phenomenal damage is profound. I haven't seen any evidence these proposals will improve healthcare in the long-term."<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-12737206 | work=BBC | title=Doctors want halt to NHS plans but reject opposition| date=15 March 2011}}</ref> There have also been various grassroots groups of UK citizenry virulently opposing the pending new bill, including NHS Direct Action,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nhsdirectaction.co.uk/|title=NHS Direct Action|work=nhsdirectaction.co.uk}}</ref> 38 Degrees,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.38degrees.org.uk/page/s/Protect_our_NHS_Petition#petition|title=38 Degrees - Save the NHS: Petition|work=38 Degrees|access-date=16 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110409182643/http://www.38degrees.org.uk/page/s/Protect_our_NHS_Petition#petition|archive-date=9 April 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> and the [[trade union]] [[Unite the Union|Unite]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unitetheunion.org/sectors/health_sector/unite_4_our_nhs.aspx|title=Health sector - campaigns|work=unitetheunion.org|access-date=16 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110222000830/http://unitetheunion.org/sectors/health_sector/unite_4_our_nhs.aspx|archive-date=22 February 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> * The [[2010 UK student protests]] mark the coming into force of one of the [[United Kingdom]]'s most severe austerity measures. On 9 December 2010 spending for [[higher education]] and tuition subsidies and assistance in [[England|English]] [[universities]] — historically rather substantial in scale — was cut by a total of 80%.<ref name="Mulholland">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2010/dec/09/tuition-fee-progressive-cable-mps-vote|title=Lib Dem parliamentary aide quits over tuition fees as MPs prepare to vote|first=Hélène|last=Mulholland|work=guardian.co.uk|publisher=Guardian News and Media|date=2010-12-09|access-date=2011-01-04|location=London}}</ref> That announcement and its implications, which included a near-tripling of student tuition fees from their previous levels<ref name="thisisleicestershire.co.uk">{{cite web|url=http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news/Lib-Dems-join-key-vote-tuition-fees-rise/article-2974808-detail/article.html|title=This Thursday will be one of the most important days in Parliament since the election, as MPs vote on the Government's plans for university tuition fees. |work=[[Leicester Mercury]]}}</ref> up to a new ceiling of £9000/year, led to a huge backlash amongst students who almost immediately took to the streets over various non-sequential days against this announcement, squaring off with police on several occasions including an instance where some students angrily entered the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] headquarters and smashed windows and destroyed its interior.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.cnn.com/2010-11-10/world/uk.protest_1_universities-students-protest-tuition-fees?_s=PM:WORLD |work=CNN |title=California university students protest tuition hikes |date=18 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101125063557/http://articles.cnn.com/2010-11-10/world/uk.protest_1_universities-students-protest-tuition-fees?_s=PM%3AWORLD |archive-date=25 November 2010 }}</ref> On the day of the passage of the measure itself, there was an explosion of street violence by enraged students and their allies, especially in [[London]]. There is an ongoing law enforcement investigation into, and even active pursuing of,{{Citation needed|date=February 2020}} the participants of the violence over the various protest days, with particular attention focusing on the moments when a number of protesters successfully attacked a royal car driving on its way to a London event,<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11975280 | work=BBC News | title=Student protests: Radio failure claims rejected | date=11 December 2010}}</ref> although they did not injure its occupants. Shouts of "off with their heads" were reportedly heard.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/british-prince-charles-royal-car-attacked-luck-photographer/story?id=12363034|title=British Prince Charles Royal Car Attacked Thanks to Luck, Photographer Says - ABC News|author=ABC News|work=ABC News}}</ref> On 25 March 2011, Charlie Gilmour, son of [[Pink Floyd]] guitarist [[David Gilmour]], became one of the more high-profile individuals to be officially charged in relation to those events.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/mar/25/charlie-gilmour-trial | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Caroline | last=Davies | title=Charlie Gilmour to stand trial over attack on royal convoy | date=25 March 2011}}</ref> As a result of these protests, a number of groups formed to combat the austerity measures that began with the cuts to higher education. One such example is Bloomsbury Fightback!, which is a group of radical students and workers in [[Bloomsbury, London]], centred on the Bloomsbury Colleges in the [[University of London]] and focusing on organising around education and employment issues, of which many are the result of the austerity measures. * The group [[UK Uncut]] is one outgrowth of the anger felt by average citizens at austerity, albeit the group focuses not so much on combating the cuts themselves as on demanding that the rich, rather than the poor, pay the shortfalls causing the austerity in the first place — a sort of "tax the rich" movement. UK Uncut attempts to organise [[flash mob]] protests inside the highest-profile buildings of the businesses of the rich people avoiding tax or paying less than they should. <!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Col 1771245c.jpg|thumb|during a late 2010 education cuts protest]] --> * Around the same time as the heating-up of the England protests (but before the passing of the bill), students in Italy occupied the [[Leaning Tower of Pisa]] in a similar protest regarding its own educational system.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11841199 | work=BBC News | title=Italian student protesters occupy Leaning Tower of Pisa | date=25 November 2010}}</ref> * On 27 November 2010, a massive protest against pending austerity took place in [[Dublin]];<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thirdage.com/news/dublin-unions-protest-harsh-austerity-plan_11-27-2010 |title=Dublin: Unions Protest Harsh Austerity Plan &#124; ThirdAge |access-date=2010-12-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101130080054/http://www.thirdage.com/news/dublin-unions-protest-harsh-austerity-plan_11-27-2010 |archive-date=30 November 2010 |df=dmy }}</ref> ''[[The Irish Examiner]]'' news service also reports on a 7 December 2010 clash around the [[Dáil]] where protesters threw smoke bombs and flares at police.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://budget.breakingnews.ie/news/protesters-target-dail-over-cuts-484837.html |title=Protesters target Dáil over cuts |access-date=2010-12-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101209180023/http://budget.breakingnews.ie/news/protesters-target-dail-over-cuts-484837.html |archive-date=9 December 2010 |df=dmy }}</ref> Additionally, [[La Scala]] in Italy experienced a clash on 8 December 2010 including scuffles with police.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11947131 | work=BBC News | title=Italian cuts spark fight at the opera for La Scala | date=8 December 2010}}</ref> * More generally, throughout 2009 and 2010, workers and students in Greece and other European countries demonstrated against cuts to pensions, public services and education spending as a result of [[government]] austerity measures.<ref name="Thestar">{{cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/business/article/802042|title=In Greece you get a bonus for showing up for work - Arcane benefits add billions to Greece's bloated budget|last=Kyriakidou|first=Dina|date=4 August 2010|work=thestar.com|access-date=29 September 2010|location=Toronto}}</ref> There was a brief airport strike in [[Spain]] in December 2010, and assorted brief "general strike"-like actions in [[France]] have taken place, particularly around the very controversial plan of the French government to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62, a proposal which eventually successfully passed. * Further protests [[2010–2011 Greek protests|taken place in Greece]], [[2011 Portuguese protests|Portugal]] and [[Anti-austerity movement in the United Kingdom|the UK]] have continued throughout 2011 and 2012,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.austeritybill.co.uk/personal-financial-news/riots-in-greece-as-austerity-measures-start-to-bite.html |work=Austerity Bill |title=Riots in Greece as austerity measures start to bite |date=23 February 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110904172633/http://www.austeritybill.co.uk/personal-financial-news/riots-in-greece-as-austerity-measures-start-to-bite.html |archive-date=4 September 2011 }}</ref> including in [[Nigeria]] with major large street clashes against the withdrawal of [[fuel subsidy|fuel subsidies]]. There was also a major protest in [[London]] by UK groups from across that country on 26 March 2011,<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/mar/14/anti-cuts-campaigners-26-march | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Matthew | last=Taylor | title=Anti-cuts campaigners plan 'carnival of civil disobedience' | date=14 March 2011}}</ref> centred on a protest call initially made by the [[Trades Union Congress]] but subsequently involving many other groups. * Participants in more militant forms of protest engaged in during 26 March demonstration, who in total only comprised 1,500 people out of the estimated 250,000-500,000 total participants, have been relentlessly attacked by the government as "mindless thugs"<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12881734 | work=BBC News | title=Home Secretary Theresa May condemns protest 'thugs' | date=28 March 2011}}</ref> with the UK's [[mainstream media]] including the [[BBC]] generally supporting this perception. This remains the case even though the fundamental seriousness of damage thus far remains debatable; much reporting seems to have focused on the smashing of a [[Santander Group|Santander bank]] branch's glass entranceway doors by largely [[anarchist]] activists, who would have also been behind the simultaneous destruction of several [[automated teller machine]]s and the scrawling of "[[class conflict|class war]]" in [[graffiti]] on neighbouring walls. * By July 2014 there was still anger and protests in Greece about the austerity measures implemented there, with a 24-hour strike among government workers on 9 July 2014, timed to coincide with an audit by inspectors from the International Monetary Fund, the European Union and European Central Bank.<ref name="GreekStrike">{{cite news|title=State workers in Greece hold strike to protest layoffs|url=http://www.greekherald.com/index.php/sid/223650639/scat/48158b5a5afd369b/ht/State-workers-in-Greece-hold-strike-to-protest-layoffs|access-date=9 July 2014|publisher=Greek Herald|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714193741/http://www.greekherald.com/index.php/sid/223650639/scat/48158b5a5afd369b/ht/State-workers-in-Greece-hold-strike-to-protest-layoffs|archive-date=14 July 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[2008–14 Irish protests|Protests]] continued and, indeed, escalated in Ireland in 2014, as the government attempted to implement additional water taxes to its austerity program, with at least one senior politician, the deputy prime minister, even being "kidnapped".<ref>{{cite news|first1=Barry|last1=Roche|first2=Ronan|last2=McGreevy|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/disgraceful-treatment-of-t%C3%A1naiste-effectively-kidnapping-says-taoiseach-1.2003922|title='Disgraceful' treatment of Tánaiste effectively 'kidnapping', says Taoiseach|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=17 November 2014|access-date=17 November 2014}}</ref>

[[File:Anti-austerity movement Montreal Quebec 2016.jpg|thumb|Flag commonly used in demonstrations against austerity in [[Quebec]] in 2015 and 2016]] * 8 March 2015 – On International Women's Day, feminist groups got together in [[Québec City]], [[Canada]] to protest against the [[austerity]] measures announced by the Couillard government.<ref>{{cite web|title=International Women's Day Attacks Austerity in Québec|url=http://www.lifeinquebec.com/international-womens-day-attacks-austerity-in-quebec-20255 |website=lifeinquebec.com |access-date=7 March 2015}}</ref> The goal of the protest was to raise awareness about the impact of austerity policies in reinforcing gender inequalities in the economy. Since the economic crisis of 2008, 23 billion $ were cut from the Québec economy.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Couturier|first1=Eve-Lyne|title=7 milliards ça fait beaucoup|url=http://iris-recherche.qc.ca/blogue/7-milliards-ca-fait-beaucoup#more-5047|website=iris-recherche.qc.ca|publisher=IRIS|access-date=7 March 2015}}</ref> A study conducted by IRIS (Institut de recherche et d’informations socio-économiques) showed that 13 billion dollars of these cuts impacted women more specifically, in comparison to 3 billion dollars for men.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|last1=Tremblay-Pepin |first1=Simon |last2=Couturier |first2=Eve-Lyne |title=Les mesures d'austérité et les femmes: analyse des documents budgétaires depuis novembre 2008 |url=http://iris-recherche.qc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Femmes_et_austerite_WEB.pdf |website=iris-recherche.qc.ca |publisher=IRIS |access-date=6 March 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402103524/http://iris-recherche.qc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Femmes_et_austerite_WEB.pdf |archive-date=2 April 2015 }}</ref> The protestors claimed that government investment privilege sectors dominated by men like construction and resources by accelerating the PQI (Quebec Infrastructure Plan) and by introducing the [[Plan Nord]].<ref name="auto"/> The areas where the most cuts can be noticed are in the ones that hold the most female workers including health care, education and public services.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Couturier|first1=Eve-Lyne|title=Austerity has cost Quebec women nearly $7 billion|url=http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/behind-numbers/2015/03/austerity-has-cost-quebec-women-nearly-7-billion|website=rabble.ca|access-date=9 March 2015}}</ref> The protest was held in front of the Treasury Board offices. Women from the CRMMF (Coalition régionale de la marche mondiale des femmes) threw hundreds of belts at the office doors to symbolise that women are tired of having to tighten their belts.<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|last1=Levesque|first1=Lia|title=Les politiques d'austérité du gouvernement Couillard pénalisent plus les femmes|url=http://quebec.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/11/25/les-politiques-dausterite-du-gouvernement-couillard-penalisent-plus-les-femmes_n_6219500.html|website=quebec.huffingtonpost.ca|date=25 November 2014|publisher=La Presse Canadienne|access-date=10 March 2015}}</ref> In response to the protest [[Alexa Conradi]], President of the [[Fédération des femmes du Québec]], argued that austerity policies needed to be re-evaluated to prevent women's status to regress like it did in England, France and Greece where similar programs were put in place.<ref name="auto1"/> * 19 March 2015 – German demonstrators clashed with police at an anti-austerity protest during the inauguration ceremony for the European Central Bank's new headquarters in Frankfurt. Police put up barricades and barbed wire around the bank headquarters as they braced for demonstrations against government austerity measures and capitalism. Protesters targeted the ECB because of the bank's role in supervising efforts to restrain spending and reduce debt in financially troubled countries such as Greece.<ref name=aljazeera>{{cite web|title=German activists riot at austerity protest in Frankfurt|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/03/german-activists-riot-austerity-protest-frankfurt-150318073001242.html|website=aljazeera.com|access-date=18 Mar 2015}}</ref> *20 June 2015 – "Westminster was gripped by dissent on Saturday, as around a quarter of a million protestors poured onto the streets of London, condemning austerity’s assault on human rights, the economy and the environment..." Jo Michell, lecturer in economics at the University of the West of England, told RT that "None of this [Austerity] is necessary. There is no debt crisis. Austerity is being used as a smokescreen to cover an ideologically-driven attack on the majority of the British public." ''‘End Austerity Now’: Protesters speak out as '250k' decry savage Westminster cuts. Russia Today, 21 June 2015'' * 31 March 2016 – [[Nuit debout]], a French social movement that emerged from opposition to the 2016 neoliberal labor reforms known as the [[El Khomri law]], began on 31 March 2016. *May 2019 - [https://www.bn1magazine.co.uk/mybrighton-hove-photo-project-unframed-lives-comes-to-brighton-fringe/ Unframed Lives]<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-05-09|title=MYBRIGHTON & HOVE Photo Project – Unframed Lives comes to Brighton Fringe|url=https://www.bn1magazine.co.uk/mybrighton-hove-photo-project-unframed-lives-comes-to-brighton-fringe/|access-date=2021-08-18|website=BN1 Magazine|language=en-GB}}</ref> is a photographic exhibition, panel event and installation for Brighton Fringe. It's a creative collaboration between people who have experienced homelessness under austerity as a [https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-33/october-2020/unframed-lives resistance project.]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Unframed lives {{!}} The Psychologist|url=https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-33/october-2020/unframed-lives|access-date=2021-08-18|website=thepsychologist.bps.org.uk}}</ref> It shows the use of art and research as a community dialogue to reflect on the lived experience of homeless people under austerity. [[File:Anti-austerity march - JPS 2563a-sm 2017 july 35630694256.jpg|thumb|Anti-austerity march in [[London]], 2017]]

==Perspectives== Some economists, like [[Nobel Prize]] winning [[Princeton University|Princeton]] economist [[Paul Krugman]], argue that austerity measures tend to be counterproductive when applied to the populations and programs they are usually applied to.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/02/opinion/02krugman.html?scp=1&sq=austerity&st=Search | work=The New York Times | first=Paul | last=Krugman | title=Myths of Austerity | date=1 July 2010}}</ref> The fact that the political sphere has been so heavily influenced by a paper known as "[[Growth in a Time of Debt]]" based on flawed methodology has led Krugman to argue:<ref>Paul Krugman [https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/19/opinion/krugman-the-excel-depression.html?_r=0 The Excel Depression]. The New York Times. 18 April 2013</ref> <blockquote>What the Reinhart–Rogoff affair shows is the extent to which austerity has been sold on false pretenses. For three years, the turn to austerity has been presented not as a choice but as a necessity. Economic research, austerity advocates insisted, showed that terrible things happen once debt exceeds 90 percent of G.D.P. But "economic research" showed no such thing; a couple of economists made that assertion, while many others disagreed. Policy makers abandoned the unemployed and turned to austerity because they wanted to, not because they had to.</blockquote>

In October 2012, the [[International Monetary Fund]] announced that its forecasts for countries which implemented austerity programs have been consistently overoptimistic.<ref name="PlumerIMF">Brad Plumer (12 October 2012) [https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/10/12/imf-austerity-is-much-worse-for-the-economy-than-we-thought/ "IMF: Austerity is much worse for the economy than we thought"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311083234/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/10/12/imf-austerity-is-much-worse-for-the-economy-than-we-thought/ |date=11 March 2016 }} ''Washington Post''</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==Further reading== * Snow, David A. et al. eds. ''Contemporary Social Movements: Historical and Descriptive Accounts'' (Wiley, 2026) pp.43–48. [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9781394300365 online]

[[Category:Austerity]] [[Category:Protests]] [[Category:Public economics]] [[Category:Welfare state]] [[Category:Welfare in Europe]]