The year of protest: Reflecting on 2023 activism incidents

Protests against pension reform, Paris April 6 2023. CGT labour union / Unsplash

30 January 2024

Evidence collected by the Risk Intelligence team on the LandRisk Logistics System shows a 45% rise in activism incidents affecting the supply chain in 2023 compared to the previous year. Reflecting on those incidents highlights the vulnerability of businesses unprepared for potential outbreaks of social and political discontent.

By Jeanne Albin, LandRisk Security Specialist

2023 was a year of severe social unrest, marked by large protest movements, riots, wide-reaching strike actions and social disobedience. As Europe continued to battle through the pressure of various and diverse crises, the Risk Intelligence team saw a staggering 45% increase in activism incidents impacting the supply chain recorded on the LandRisk Logistics System in 2023 compared to the previous year.

On the one hand, as European governments continue to be perceived by voters as unable to address some of their most pressing economic and social concerns, the cost-of-living crisis, losses (both real and perceived) of economic standards and security-related fears have fuelled anxieties over the threat of a social crisis in Europe. Labour relation disputes, nationwide strike actions, widespread protests, and demonstrations thus became a weekly occurrence throughout the past year. On the other hand, movements such as Last Generation, Fridays for Future or Extinction Rebellion have managed to gather significant support from activists worried about the impact of climate change and interested in environmental politics. And despite some recent difficulties and a decline in mobilisation, many continue to view disruptive actions as central to their strategy.

Whilst some actions directly impacted the supply chain because of their very nature (the ongoing dispute between Germany’s DGL train drivers’ union and Deutsche Bahn or the daily protests staged on the A-12 motorway in the Hague through September 2023 for example), others have specifically aimed to target the supply chain because of its role in the global economy and the political power yielded by groups capable of organising large-scale disruptions. The months-long protests launched in France to counter Emmanuel Macron government’s pension reform, for example, impacted the operations of an estimated five million businesses through disruptions to operations, property damage, and, of course, transport-related difficulties as workers from all around the country united behind the aim to ‘bring the French economy to a standstill’. At the very heart of the labour unions’ strategy was the clear and intentional targeting of ports, road transport and railway networks, and industrial facilities.

Crucially, these movements have already started to extend into 2024 (the recent nationwide protests launched by farmers in Germany, France, and Romania, which all led to nationwide traffic disruptions, being perfect examples), and, as intra-European political and geopolitical tensions remain high, politically motivated protests also show no sign of diminishing as we go into the new year. In fact, provided governments do not manage to effectively address the unrest, 2024 is likely to become a new ‘year of protest’, demanding efforts from companies to remain aware of potential outbreaks of social and political discontent and reevaluate their strategies to preserve the stability and continuity of their operations.

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