Danish Students Join European Protest Wave Over Education Funding Cuts

Students rallied in Copenhagen on November 4, 2026, against Danish government plans to overhaul the student allowance, the monthly state payment that helps students cover living costs. Organisers said up to 13,000 students marched from the city hall square to parliament under the banner "Enough is Enough," according to Al Jazeera. The march was part of wider student action across Europe, which AFP reported as the Danish students joining European-wide protests against education cuts.

Since 1970, every student over 18 enrolled in school or university in Denmark has automatically received the allowance, regardless of parents' income. The government has now proposed scrapping it for students from wealthier families. Under the plan, the allowance would be abolished for students living with parents who earn more than 700,000 Danish kroner ($105,248) a year. Only students whose parents earn between 419,589 kroner ($63,087) and 700,000 kroner would be eligible, with payments staggered by parental income.

At present, students living on their own receive 7,426 kroner ($1,116) a month, while students living with parents receive 1,154 kroner ($173) a month. Denmark's Higher Education Ministry said about 14,000 students are expected to lose their stipends and about 8,000 would see them reduced, according to Al Jazeera.

The proposals also cover unemployment benefits for recent university graduates. The government has proposed paying them only to those who worked during 18 of the last 24 months of their studies. The government has said the stipend cuts aim to free up funds for defence spending.

Student associations said about 40,000 students were on strike at 57 schools across Denmark over the proposed cuts.

Protest activity in other countries has focused on different grievances. In France, a 15-year-old boy's hand was blown off during a clash with riot police amid student protests, and on October 7 the government suspended the use of stun grenades, a type of police crowd-control device, to police those protests, Reuters reported. French student protests have been driven by deteriorating schools, overcrowded classrooms and a university admissions system viewed as unfair, Reuters reported.

On October 13, the climate activist Greta Thunberg joined French high-school students demanding better learning conditions, Reuters reported. In Brussels, hundreds of students joined union members in a march on October 9, and a small group of protesters clashed with police during it, Reuters reported.