Riots broke out between Albanian police and protesters who had gathered in Tirana, demonstrating against the Trump family’s tourism development project in the country, as demonstrators attempted to block lawmakers inside the parliament building.
Read more: Bloomberg: Rama backs Kushner investment plans and calls Albania protests “political theater”
Albania: Clashes erupt in Tirana over Trump family tourism development project
Several hundred protesters had gathered outside the entrances of the parliament building and attempted to break through the police cordon as lawmakers were leaving, according to an AFP journalist on the scene. In the tense confrontation that followed, a number of protesters were arrested. Some of those present threw eggs, tomatoes, and bottles at MPs’ vehicles as they passed through the corridor opened by police. Authorities did not specify the number of people detained. Protesters who subsequently marched to a nearby police station demanding “the release of citizens” reported approximately 20 arrests.
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🇦🇱🚨 Thousands of officers plus unmarked men terrorizing and grabbing peaceful protesters off the street in Albania.
A state that beats its own citizens, sometimes to death, and lets the drug cartels walk free has no right to stand. @ediramaal must resign!
SHARE THIS VIDEO. https://t.co/DqR0fUbiAa pic.twitter.com/XiW128FPAr
— Flamingo Television (@Flamingo_TV) September 8, 2026
🚨🇦🇱 BREAKING: Police clash with and detain protesters outside Albania’s Parliament in Tirana
Protesters threw eggs at MPs’ cars during the ongoing anti-government demonstrations, while police moved in to disperse the crowd and detained several demonstrators.
The protesters are… pic.twitter.com/hjRz0zLRPC
— Anonymous TV 🇺🇦 (@YourAnonTV) September 8, 2026
Protests in Albania press on despite police crackdowns. Several students are now facing criminal prosecution, but citizens have responded by blocking Tirana’s main boulevard.
They refuse to back down: Cancel the Kushner deal and clear out the corrupt Rama-Berisha establishment🦩 https://t.co/WBvN3iMAWJ pic.twitter.com/jLbb1FAD8k— Tirana Report (@Tirana_Report) September 8, 2026
Today marked the 101st day of protests in the Albanian capital, Albania, in opposition to the massive tourism development project being pushed forward by US President Donald Trump’s family. Demonstrators are also calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama. The mobilizations began in late May, after preliminary construction work started in a protected nature zone in the Zvërnec area. Protesters, carrying Albanian flags and pink paper flamingos — the symbol of their movement — also demanded the repeal of the protected areas law, which they say unfairly favors investors.
