A project linked to Trump, the spark that brought Albanians out into the streets

Plans to build a luxury resort in Zvernec, in a protected area and on the island of Sazan, estimated at more than 4 billion euros and associated with Donald Trump's daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared Kushner, have catalyzed anger with cries of "Albania is not for sale".

"A discontent that had been building up over the years exploded," summarizes Skender Minxhozi, an experienced journalist and editor-in-chief of the online media outlet Java News.

In the street, we find "those who feel helpless and insulted in their intelligence when they see who speaks and decides in their name," he argues, not to mention "the unavoidable economic dimension: the soaring cost of living, the impossibility of finding housing and the feeling that future prospects are shrinking rapidly."

Albania has been experiencing a demographic crisis for decades: since 2008, approximately one million Albanians have obtained residence permits in European Union countries, according to Eurostat. This figure does not include those who have left for the United States, Canada, and other countries.

"The solidarity rallies in European cities, and even in the United States, cannot be explained simply by nostalgia or the emotional attachment of emigrants to their homeland. Many of those demonstrating have fled precisely these wounds that are now being denounced in the public sphere," Mr. Minxhozi believes. "Zvernec was just the spark."

Environment, corruption and fake news

The protests have given rise to a flood of misinformation, with some claiming that Albania was going to give part of its land to Israel, others that Greece was behind the movement to recover investments made by the Trump family...

But in the procession that has been gathering every evening since the beginning of June on Tirana's main boulevard, specific demands have emerged: the cancellation of the tourism project, the integration of the Vjosa River delta into the already existing national park, the end of the law on strategic investments, which benefited a company linked to Jared Kushner for the part of his tourism project planned on Sazan Island, and the resignation of the Prime Minister.

The protesters are also demanding the suspension of the amendment to the law on protected areas which has "opened the way to massive construction in these areas, and the case of Zvernec is just one example among many," explains Besjana Guri, Founder of the environmental protection NGO Lumi.

This is also the case with the new Vlora airport, built five kilometers from the Narta lagoon - right next to the project championed by Kushner.

For the government, this is an essential infrastructure for accommodating the tourists who flock to the beaches every summer. In 2025, Albania welcomed more than 12 million tourists, compared to 2,6 million in 2020.

Faced with the protests, Prime Minister Edi Rama opted for mockery, repeatedly posting videos on his social media accounts that ridiculed environmental activists, heavily aided by artificial intelligence. In one video, dressed in a faux-leather skirt and a transparent mesh top, he mimicked an influencer counting protesters. On Monday, he sported a T-shirt with a pink flamingo, the symbol of the movement, at a rally.

"If it weren't for Kushner, they wouldn't give a damn," he told reporters on Friday on the sidelines of a European summit.

However, the Albanian justice system was forced to examine the project. SPAK, the anti-corruption prosecutor's office, opened an investigation into the origin of the funds used to purchase the land in Zvernec.

And this project could slow down Albania's path to the EU, Rama's big promise, who campaigned on European integration by 2030.

"We have already raised our concerns with the Minister for the Environment regarding the potential shortcomings of this project. The Minister has committed to suspending construction work and conducting a full environmental impact assessment (EIA), in consultation with civil society," a spokesperson for the European Commission told AFP.

"As part of the EU accession process," it is added in Brussels, "Albania is expected to fully align itself with EU environmental legislation, repeal incompatible provisions (adopted through amendments to the law on protected areas) and terminate the 2015 legislation on strategic investments.

"Albania should refrain from any action that could compromise" the accession process and "we expect the Albanian authorities to act without delay," the spokesman concluded.