Crime & Courts
Day 11 of the protest: medical students march in white coats, evening passes without incident
Lecturers, students and doctors marched from the Polytechnic University to the Prime Minister's Office and again rejected the invitation to dialogue. In the evening fewer than 100 young people stayed for hours outside the building.
By ANN Newsroom · Newsroom
October 23, 2026, 22:00 · Updated 18:39 · 1 min read
In brief
- The march started outside the Polytechnic University and was joined by medical students outside the Prime Minister's Office.
- Some protesters rolled the concrete benches set up for dialogue along the boulevard.
- The evening was calm, with calls for Saturday's national protest.
The student protest in Tirana entered its 11th day on Friday. Lecturers and students gathered in the morning outside the Polytechnic University and marched toward the Prime Minister's Office, chanting “Join us” and “United students will win.” Outside the Prime Minister's Office they were joined by medical students in white coats and surgical masks.
A statement of support was read on behalf of doctors, dentists, pharmacists and other health workers, calling for the protest to remain peaceful and condemning violence against students and against those giving first aid to the injured. Doctors' Union head Gentian Stroni urged restraint from both sides, while Lecturers' Union head Aleksandër Kovaçi said they will stand by the students wherever they are.
Dialogue benches rolled away
The protesters again rejected Prime Minister Edi Rama's invitation to dialogue. Some young people were seen rolling the concrete benches placed outside the Prime Minister's Office along the boulevard, while cushions and sheets reading “Dialogue” were thrown away. Rama reacted on social media: “Students? NO! Lecturers? NO! So what are these people who only want chaos?!”
Among the demands read out were the prime minister's resignation, a transitional government of technocrats and better study and living conditions for students.
A calm evening
In the evening, fewer than 100 young people stayed for several hours outside the Prime Minister's Office, watched by a number of police officers, without causing incidents. Sporadic calls focused on organizing Saturday's rally, which organizers say will be national.
