Thousands of people marched across Italy’s main cities on Saturday over rising living costs, the government of Giorgia Meloni and wars in the Middle East, while soldiers and police patrolled city centres after last weekend’s violence. According to Euronews, the protests were mostly peaceful, but tension flared in several cities in the evening.
In Bologna, bottles and other objects were thrown at security forces, who responded with a water cannon and tear gas, according to Euronews. Tension also flared in Turin, Florence and Rome.
In Rome, a group broke away from the main march, entered the Flavian Amphitheatre at the Colosseum and was later escorted out by authorities, Euronews reported.
In Milan, 500 soldiers were deployed in response to attacks on shops the previous Saturday, according to Euronews. The Department of Public Security said nine people were arrested, 87 were reported to authorities and 371 were taken to police stations for checks. Of those taken in for checks, 110 were minors and 69 were foreign nationals.
Euronews also reported that a 30-year-old man, Youssef Siher, was detained in Milan and placed under investigation on suspicion of aggravated incitement to commit a crime. The report says he is allegedly linked to the "17 October Movement." No response from Siher or his lawyer is included in the sources, and no independent confirmation of the group’s alleged role has been given beyond the allegation itself.
NPR reports that protests also took place in Milan, Rome, Madrid, Lisbon and Tirana, with soldiers guarding central Milan. That account is based only on the headline and excerpt of the NPR report, so the detail rests on a single outlet in this review.
Euronews reports that the government enacted a significant new security operation after last weekend’s violence, with police and soldiers patrolling city centres. Meloni wrote on social media that the right to demonstrate must be guaranteed alongside citizens’ right to live in safety, and that there is no room for those seeking confrontation and violence.
NPR reports that protests in France have drawn most of the international attention.
Several points remain unclear. The sources do not report deaths or serious injuries, or the total damage from the shop attacks. The anti-riot laws mentioned in the story’s brief are not described in any source provided, and no second source confirms the Bologna injury or related hospital details.
The sources do not say what comes next. They do not state how long the soldier deployment or the wider security operation will last, or what the investigation into Siher will involve.
Sources
This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.