Thousands march on parliament
Thousands of young people in Denmark demonstrated against a government plan to cut student stipends under a decades-long allowance scheme on November 4, 2026, adding to a wider wave of youth unrest across Europe.
Organisers said up to 13,000 students marched from Copenhagen’s City Hall Square to parliament under the banner “Enough is Enough” to protest proposed cuts meant to free up funds for defense spending. The rally echoed student protests in France that spread to other European countries in recent weeks, morphing into wider grievances over the cost of living and housing crises impacting young people across the continent.
A historic welfare system under threat
Student associations stated that roughly 40,000 students were on strike at 57 schools across Denmark over the proposed policy changes.
In force since 1970, the student allowance, known as SU, has automatically provided support to all students over the age of 18 regardless of their parents’ income.
Proposed changes to the SU scheme
Under the draft budget bill proposed by Denmark’s center-left government, the allowance would be abolished for students living with parents earning more than 700,000 Danish kroner ($104,440). Students currently receive 1,154 kroner ($173) a month when living with their parents, and 7,426 kroner ($1,111) when living on their own.
Thousands of Danish students join European protest wave against education funding cuts in Copenhagen, Denmark. pic.twitter.com/w1Swp6oPdJ
Only students living with parents earning between 419,589 kroner and 700,000 kroner a year would remain eligible for the allowance under a staggered scale. The Higher Education Ministry indicated that approximately 14,000 students would lose their stipends entirely, while about 8,000 would see their grants reduced.
Peaceful streets and pointed slogans
Copenhagen police maintained a heavy presence during the demonstration, which unfolded in a peaceful atmosphere under sunny autumn skies. Protesters chanted “Broken Promises” and carried signs reading “Save SU”, “Less Support, Less Educated”, and “Don’t Cheat the Young”.
“In Denmark, we get funding and economic support for getting an education, and we’re very proud of this,” said Oscar Tonsberg Hoffmann, president of the Danish High School Students’ Association, telling Agence France-Presse that dismantling one of the world’s strongest educational systems would be wrong.
Kieran Hindshaw, a 23-year-old agronomy student, voiced a sense of betrayal regarding the budget shift. “I’m infuriated that we finally get a supposedly ‘red’ government in Denmark that includes the left parties, and anyway we get cuts to our welfare and to the economies of young people whilst they’re funding corporate tax reductions and warfare,” he told Agence France-Presse.
Minister defends spending choices amid growing security demands
The government also proposed that unemployment benefits for recent university graduates be paid exclusively to individuals who have worked during 18 of the last 24 months of their studies.
Christina Egelund, minister for Science, Higher Education and Digital Affairs, stated that she understood students demonstrating for their views, but defended the need to make spending choices amid growing demands for defense and security funding.
Industry Minister and Social Liberal Party leader Martin Lidegaard noted that the cuts were unpleasant decisions. Meanwhile, the grant proposal remains under negotiation in parliament.
