Cost-of-Living Protests Spread Across France and Italy

Protests over the rising cost of living and economic crisis turned violent in several Italian cities, following demonstrations in France. Milan saw the most serious unrest. Clashes began on Via Broletto and spread to the city centre, including Piazza Duomo. Police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse demonstrators, who threw objects, set off fireworks and firecrackers, and used fire extinguishers. Shops were vandalised, a portable toilet was set on fire, and street furniture was damaged. Twenty-five people were injured, including ten police officers; none required emergency red-code transport. By the end of the protest, 50 people had been detained, half of them minors. The disruption also led to the closure of the M1 and M3 underground stations. In Turin, unrest involving hooded young protesters lasted about an hour. Bins and outdoor furniture were used as barricades, and objects including bottles, sticks and stones were thrown at police. Officers stopped 12 people, ten of them minors, and found items including petrol bombs, firecrackers, cobblestones and emergency window hammers. Investigators are assessing some of those stopped in connection with damage. In Bologna, clashes near the railway station and Piazza Medaglie d’Oro involved stones, smoke bombs, bottles and barriers. Police used tear gas and water cannon; seven people were detained. Italy’s political leaders responded with sharply differing emphasis. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the violence and urged opposition parties not to remain ambiguous. Deputy Prime Ministers Antonio Tajani and Matteo Salvini also criticised political opponents and the protesters. Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said the grievances behind the protests were understandable but that violence and damage were unjustifiable. Democratic Party regional group leader Pierfrancesco Majorino likewise condemned the violence, while warning against using it to discredit students peacefully raising issues such as housing, education and their future.

France 24 reports that approximately 800,000 people demonstrated in cities across France over the weekend of October 17–18, 2026. The largely peaceful protests brought together a diverse range of participants, including students, railway workers and members of the Yellow Vest movement. According to the article, the demonstrations began with a month of high school student protests focused on educational inequality and deteriorating school facilities. They subsequently broadened into a wider expression of public discontent about the cost of living, public spending and what protesters view as inadequate action on climate change. The article describes people across France as feeling they have reached their “breaking point,” while the headline characterizes the protests as bringing the population together around a shared purpose. The report is presented as a short video item, credited to France 24 journalist Shirli Sitbon. The supplied article text does not provide further detail about specific protest locations, government responses, organizers, or the outcome of the demonstrations.

Protests over the rising cost of living turned violent in Milan and Bologna on Saturday, prompting clashes with police, arrests and emergency measures. In Milan, demonstrators threw stones at officers in Piazza Duomo, and riot police moved against hooded protesters near the cathedral and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. Shops closed their shutters, tourists left the area and the Duomo metro station was temporarily shut. Italian media reported injuries and arrests; Rai News said around 12 people were hospitalised and approximately 50 were detained for processing. The unrest reportedly included smashed shop windows, a fire at a nearby construction site and fireworks directed at police along Via Broletto. In Bologna, police used tear gas and water cannons after a breakaway group of hooded youths threw objects at officers, overturned rental bicycles and targeted the central railway station. At least seven people were arrested, according to ANSA, and the station was precautionarily closed. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the violence while defending the right to peaceful protest. She cited injuries to officers, property damage and reports of people carrying potential weapons, and called on opposition parties to unequivocally reject violence. She said demonstrations are a democratic right but that setting cities ablaze is not. The demonstrations, organised under the “Italy in the Square” banner, drew more than 5,000 people in Milan, Rai News reported. Student-led protests raised concerns about inflation, low wages, underfunded public healthcare and worsening conditions in public schools, as well as broader opposition to government policies. The article also notes unrest in neighbouring France, where demonstrations over living costs and public services turned violent in Paris and other cities. France 24, citing Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, reported about 550,000 participants nationwide and approximately 400 arrests.