Mass protests are tearing through France, Italy, and Belgium, and it's bad news for everyday Europeans squeezed by rising prices, while becoming fresh ammunition for anti-immigrant politics in the West.

• Protests started with French high school and university students angry over crumbling schools, missing teachers, and a cost-of-living crunch, then grew to hundreds of thousands of people including workers and unions.
• The root cause is fuel and food prices spiking because of the Iran war, which disrupted oil supply and even closed the Strait of Hormuz, and that pain is hitting ordinary people's wallets across Europe.
• French President Macron himself pointed to the Gulf conflict and cost of living as the real driver, while also facing criticism for cutting corporate and wealth taxes while school funding fell.
• Despite European leaders and press agreeing the unrest is about affordability, several U.S. commentators and politicians are reframing it as an immigration and Muslim extremism story instead.
• Similar anger over fuel costs is building in Italy, South Korea, and India, suggesting the unrest could spread as high energy prices keep squeezing people worldwide.

Outlook: Expect more protests in other countries as fuel and food costs stay high, with the same cost-of-living story likely to keep getting recast abroad as a culture-war or immigration issue.