The luxury high-rises transforming Tirana's skyline are meant to project the image of a modern European capital. But at the foot of one of these buildings, Samanta, a 22-year-old master's student in economics, is in tears.

She removes the mask she had been wearing to protect herself from tear gas.

"How could I ever afford an apartment in one of these towers on a salary of €540 [$608]?" she shouts, as she stands facing a line of police officers. "I share the rent with people I don't even know because my family has emigrated. We're exhausted."

University lecture halls in Tirana stand empty as students boycott classes and take to the streets, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama, who has been in power since 2013.

Escalation after months of protests

Albanians have been protesting since late May as part of a broader anti-government movement known as the "Flamingo Revolution." The protests began in response to a multimillion-euro tourism development linked to Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, in the protected coastal area of Zvernec.

The movement has, however, since grown into a broader challenge to Rama's government.

Over the past three days, the student demonstrations have erupted into violent clashes. Bins, businesses, buildings and banks have been set ablaze, with some completely burning out. Tear gas has filled the air.

A total of 152 people have been arrested and 324 are under investigation over the three days of protests. Injuries have been reported among both protesters and police officers, with the police saying 71 officers have been injured in the clashes.

The students are angry about conditions at universities, the cost of higher education and poor employment prospects after graduation. But above all, they want the government to step down. They say they are not willing to negotiate any of their other demands with the prime minister.

"You didn't listen to us for four months while we protested peacefully. Now you'll listen as the city burns," said Samanta.

Rama breaks his silence

During the first two days of the student protests, the prime minister remained silent.

Then, at 8:03 a.m. local time on Thursday, Rama appeared in a video message recorded inside the fire-damaged College of Europe building, just meters from his office on Tirana's main street, the Boulevard of the Martyrs of the Nation.

"These are the hands of an opposition that, hiding behind masked people, wants to drag Albania back to a place it will never return to," he declared.

Later that day, Rama addressed the protesters' central demand — his resignation. In comments to Reuters, he ruled out stepping down, saying governments are changed in elections.

The following day, he also accused "foreign hands" of seeking to prevent Albania from joining the European Union.

The unrest comes at a critical moment for Albania's bid to join the EU. Brussels has called for calm and restraint, urging all sides to avoid further escalation and engage in dialogue.

Sali Berisha, the 82-year-old leader of the opposition Democratic Party and a former prime minister, rejected Rama's accusations that the opposition was behind the violence.

"We have no idea whether it's Greece, Iran, Serbia or someone else," he told a press conference, mocking Rama's claims of foreign interference. "The Democratic Party fully supports this protest and will stand by it until the end. Resign and leave immediately!"

Students against the political establishment

For Rigels Xhemollari of the Albanian civil society organization Qendresa Qytetare (Civic Resistance), the student revolt is the culmination of months of peaceful protests.

"The main reason is the prime minister's failure to respond during four months of protests and his mockery of the demonstrators. Other reasons include the economic situation, corruption cases and successive scandals," Xhemollari told DW, referring to a number of corruption investigations involving senior government officials.

But the anger is not directed at Rama's administration alone. Protesters have also voiced their frustration with Albania's political opposition.

"We want the political class of the past 35 years to go. We want a new Albania with new leaders," Skerdi Topalli, a 20-year-old journalism student, told DW.

What could come after the protests?

For political analyst Mark Marku, dean of the Faculty of History and Philology at the University of Tirana, the protests mark a turning point.

"This is the reaction of a generation. In a society that was not responding, they woke people up and made us think about change," he told DW.

But Marku warns that even Rama's resignation and fresh elections would not necessarily bring new political leadership.

"Challenging the government is not an end in itself. A protest must produce a result," he said. "There must be a platform, a political alternative. You cannot vote for a protest."

Xhemollari, meanwhile, sees Rama's resignation as the only way to end the revolt.

"The protest has just one political demand, and it requires a political solution: the prime minister's resignation," he told DW.

Xhemollari says that Albania's president should bring political parties together to form a caretaker government led by a non-partisan prime minister, paving the way for local and parliamentary elections in May 2027.

Edited by: Aingeal Flanagan