Italy arrests 28 as cost-of-living protests injure 141 officers
09:51, 19/10/2026, MondayU: Update: 10:31, 19/10/2026, Monday
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Italian authorities arrested 28 people, including 12 minors, and recorded 141 injured officers during violent cost-of-living demonstrations across several cities on Saturday, as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni urged opposition parties to unequivocally condemn the unrest while acknowledging that thousands had demonstrated peacefully.
Violence erupts in northern cities
Italian police detained 28 people, including 12 minors, as cost-of-living demonstrations descended into violence across several cities on Saturday, leaving 141 officers injured while tensions persisted in central Milan on Sunday, Sky TG24 reported. Organized by the Italia in Piazza movement, Saturday’s demonstrations opposed rising living costs, fuel prices and tax pressures. Around 5,000 people participated in Milan, 3,000 in Turin, 2,000 in Bologna, 600 in Brescia and 800 in Bergamo, according to police figures.
In Milan, groups threw stones, bottles, firecrackers and barriers at officers, who responded with tear gas and water cannon. Shops were damaged and looted around the city center, while a Carabinieri vehicle was destroyed. Police arrested 17 people in Milan, where retail association Confcommercio estimated damage to shops and businesses at more than €500,000 ($561,860), according to the broadcaster. In Turin, officers detained an adult for resisting arrest and three minors allegedly carrying Molotov cocktails, while a group vandalized the Feltrinelli bookstore at Porta Nuova station. In Bologna, police arrested five minors following clashes near the railway station, where demonstrators threw bottles, stones and barriers at officers who deployed tear gas and water cannon.
Officials condemn violence amid grievances
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed solidarity with law enforcement and urged opposition parties to unequivocally condemn the violence, while acknowledging that thousands had demonstrated peacefully. Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said his League party would resubmit a parliamentary proposal requiring organizers of demonstrations deemed risky to provide financial guarantees covering potential damage.
Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said protesters’ grievances were understandable but violence against officers and extensive damage to the city were unjustifiable. Bologna Mayor Matteo Lepore similarly condemned the unrest and urged young people to distance themselves from those using demonstrations as a pretext for violence. Police said 197 people were identified and taken to police stations, while 43 were reported to judicial authorities.