In just two years, young people born after the late 1990s have toppled governments, forced out ministers and shut down school gates. But their power is not the same everywhere and that difference holds a lesson for Africa.
Not long ago, political analysts treated young people as the group that complains loudly and votes quietly. That picture is now out of date. Since 2024 protesters from Generation Z loosely those born between the late 1990s and early 2010s, have shaken governments on almost every continent. They organize through group chats, memes and short videos rather than party offices. They often have no famous leader and in some places they have won.
The wave began in Bangladesh in 2024, where student-led protests ended the long rule of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. In September 2025, anger over corruption and a social media ban brought Nepal’s government down and the country’s former prime minister was later arrested over the deadly crackdown. Youth-led protests also shook Peru and Madagascar, where Gen Z demonstrators helped push leaders from power in the weeks that followed.
The most striking recent example came from India. In July 2026, a Gen Z movement known as the Cockroach Janta Party which began as online satire and grew into a street movement, spent weeks protesting leaks of medical school entrance exam papers that forced more than two million candidates to retake tests. On 25 July, education minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned, the first minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s twelve years in office to fall to street pressure. The prime minister even joined Instagram campaigns in response. India has more than 360 million people aged 15-29 so the government knows what that number means.
Now it is France’s turn. The newest chapter is playing out in France, where high school students have been blocking schools and marching since late September, demanding more money for classrooms, more teachers, safer and better buildings. On 6 October, protesters filled Paris and other cities. Some carried placards saying “Gen Z will win”. Police made thousands of arrests, mostly of teenagers and the government has accused political groups of exploiting the movement, which those groups deny.
Yet French students face a harder road than their counterparts in Asia and the reason is simple arithmetic. In India, Nepal or Bangladesh young people are a huge share of the population. In Europe, they are a shrinking one while France’s youth are outnumbered by older voters who have strong political power and different priorities. A teenager in Paris can fill a boulevard but cannot easily out-vote a retired neighbour. That is why European analysts describe the clash as a generational tug-of-war over limited public money and why Gen Z’s energy there may bring attention but not always results.
What happened in Africa? To EANDEL readers, the big question is whether this movement is also ours. The answer is yes but with mixed results. Gen Z-led protests have appeared in Kenya, Nigeria, Morocco, Madagascar, Togo, Senegal, Uganda, Tanzania and elsewhere since 2024. Kenya’s young people forced the withdrawal of an unpopular finance bill in 2024. Morocco’s “GenZ 212” demonstrators demanded better hospitals and schools in 2025.
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