Politics · 2026-11-04 · Afternoon briefing

Denmark: 40,000 students strike over grant cuts

Some 40,000 students across Denmark went on strike on Wednesday, with up to 13,000 marching in Copenhagen to protest government plans to cut a long-standing student allowance. The action, which involved 57 schools, joins a wider wave of youth protests over education cuts that began in France in recent weeks.

The centre-left government's draft budget would abolish the 'SU' grant for students living at home whose parents' combined annual income exceeds 700,000 kroner (US$104,000). According to the Higher Education Ministry, the change would cause 14,000 students to lose their grant entirely and another 8,000 to have it reduced. The SU system, in place since 1970, is considered a cornerstone of the country's egalitarian university system.

The proposal has created a difficult position for parties within the governing coalition. The Socialist People’s Party, whose leader Pia Olsen Dyhr is now a minister, had previously vowed not to touch the grant system but now defends the cuts as a necessary compromise. Industry Minister Martin Lidegaard described the move not as a 'pleasant decision' but as 'economically responsible policy'.

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• Danish students join European protests against education cuts
• Danish students join European wave of youth strikes over education cuts
• Danish students join European protests

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