Over 200 arrested in Milan as cost-of-living protests turn violent
Italian police arrested more than 200 people in Milan after weekend protests against the rising cost of living deteriorated into widespread looting and clashes near the historic Duomo cathedral square.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called an urgent security meeting for Monday to address the unrest, drawing comparisons to recent street violence in Paris. Similar anti-inflation rallies also took place across northern Italy, including Bologna and Turin.
Clashes in central Milan
Riot police deployed tear gas and water cannon on Sunday to disperse groups of protesters gathered in Milan's central square. Video footage captured masked youths dressed in black hurling blunt objects at patrol vehicles and setting street barricades on fire.
Vandals looted a supermarket along an avenue leading toward Piazza del Duomo, overturned municipal waste bins, and destroyed dozens of parked scooters and bicycles throughout the perimeter.
International trend of unrest
Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala expressed grave concern over the escalation, linking the clashes to broader systemic tensions witnessed in major cities worldwide.
“What happened here is what we are seeing across many cities globally,” Sala said. “I am deeply worried because this is a new phenomenon rooted in an international context.”
Prime Minister Meloni condemned the rioters, characterizing the destructive acts as criminal exploitation of civic dissent.
“The right to protest is guaranteed. However, destroying our cities is not a right,” Meloni wrote on social media platform X, describing the perpetrators as “thugs who use protests to spread chaos, attack security forces, and hold entire cities hostage.”
Translation by Iurie Tataru
Ancora una volta, le donne e gli uomini delle Forze dell’Ordine hanno dovuto affrontare la violenza di delinquenti che, anche attraverso gruppi organizzati, sfruttano le manifestazioni per cercare lo scontro e seminare il caos. A tutti loro va la mia piena solidarietà e un ringraziamento sincero. Perché erano lì per tutelare la sicurezza dei cittadini, dei lavoratori, dei commercianti e di tutte le persone che hanno diritto di vivere la propria città senza paura e senza vederla messa a ferro e fuoco da bande di teppisti. Siamo con voi.
— Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) October 18, 2026
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