Albanian riot police deployed tear gas and water cannon outside parliament in Tirana on Thursday morning to repel several hundred demonstrators who tried to force a security cordon. The immediate trigger was a rumoured parliamentary vote on a €4 million government subsidy for a concert by the American rapper Kanye West, whose antisemitic statements and songs glorifying Adolf Hitler have drawn international condemnation. The confrontation, in which some protesters threw eggs and stones, marks the sharpest escalation since nightly rallies began on 31 May against a luxury resort project linked to Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.

Viewed from Tirana, the protests fuse two grievances. The first is the Trump-Kushner plan to develop the uninhabited island of Sazan and adjacent coastal wetlands into an opulent resort. The site, a former military base that became a de facto nature preserve, hosts flamingos, sea turtles and other protected species. An investment committee chaired by Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama granted preliminary approval to the venture shortly after Donald Trump’s 2024 re-election; the Kushners’ partners include Qatari financiers and an Albanian conglomerate. The second grievance is the West concert subsidy, which the government sought to prevent the event’s cancellation and, in Rama’s words, “not to embarrass Albania.” Many demonstrators interpreted the aid, pushed through amid the ongoing unrest, as a deliberate provocation.

According to European diplomats and regional analysts, the mobilisation—dubbed the “Flamingo Revolution” after the birds that breed in the threatened lagoon—channels accumulated frustration over opaque governance and suspected corruption. Protesters denounce what they call the arrogance of power and demand Rama’s resignation. The demonstrations, which until mid-July regularly drew thousands of participants according to AFP journalists on the ground, represent one of the largest waves of dissent since the end of communist rule 35 years ago. Although Albania remains one of the most pro-American countries in the Balkans and a NATO member since 2009, the Trump family’s involvement has not shielded the project from domestic backlash; instead, it has become a symbol of decision-making perceived as serving foreign investors and political elites.

The dossier remains fluid. The investment committee’s preliminary approval has not yet translated into final construction permits, and the parliamentary vote on the concert subsidy was not confirmed by the legislature on Thursday. The Rama government has given no public indication that it will reconsider the resort, and the prime minister has dismissed criticism of the project’s aesthetic impact by stating that “nobody can lecture me” on beauty. Protests have grown less frequent in recent weeks, but organisers vow to continue. The next concrete step, according to legislative officials, is the scheduling of the subsidy vote, which could reignite street mobilisations.