Is a foreign luxury resort sparking Albania’s biggest protest wave in years?

Plans by Affinity Partners, an investment firm founded by US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner to develop a luxury resort in Albania’s coastal area, including the island Sazan — a flamingo habitat — have been met with strong pushback from the local population.

Magda Anastasijevic, ACLED’s Eastern Europe, Caucasus, and Central Asia Research Manager, said: 

“The protests began on 30 May at the construction site in Zvërnec — leading to criminal proceedings against 15 demonstrators — before spreading to the capital Tirana and other cities across the country. Protesters have started using flamingos as a mascot in order to draw attention to devastation of the protected area and the lack of transparency behind the government deal with the investment firm. 

"This movement has led to the most demonstrations recorded in a single month since October 2025, according to ACLED data up to 8 June. Then, demonstrations spiked when mine and oil workers staged a series of protests in the towns of Marinëz and Spaç. If demonstrations were to continue at the current rate through the end of June, they would surpass the demonstrations recorded in January 2019, when Albanians protested another construction project, the Great Ring Road of Tirana.

“This is not the first time Kushner’s firm’s activity in the region has faced intense resistance. Last year, Affinity Partners’ plans to build a hotel at a protected cultural site in Belgrade, Serbia were halted after protests for similar reasons. ACLED records six rallies directly against the development in November 2025, as a part of the wider student protest movement. 

“While Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has faced over 150 demonstrations against his government since ACLED started to record data for Albania in 2018 until today, as well as regular calls to resign mostly from the oppositional Democratic Party of Albania, this specific crisis has created a different political alignment. This time, however, the two parties seem to be aligned The Democratic Party leader Salim Berisha, himself facing corruption charges over dubious investments from his time as a two-term prime minister, has expressed his support for Kushner’s project and has not backed the protests. Rama has promised to press on with the development, as demonstrations and discontent continue to grow.” 

For more information, or to arrange an interview, contact the ACLED Press Office.