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Italy Deploys Troops as Cost-of-Living Protests Turn Violent

Updated 2:11 PM ET · 8:15 AM ETConfirmed

World Desk

In Short: Italy sent 500 troops to Milan to maintain security amid cost-of-living protests that turned violent, injuring dozens and damaging property.

Violence erupted during cost-of-living demonstrations in Milan on Saturday, leaving at least four police officers and 20 demonstrators injured.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the violence, expressing solidarity with law enforcement and denouncing those who exploit protests to provoke confrontations.

Meloni announced plans to cap foreign student ratios in classrooms, ban face-covering veils in schools, and deploy troops to maintain security.

In France, cost-of-living protests drew around 550,000 to 800,000 participants, with more than 550,000 people joining demonstrations across the country.

President Emmanuel Macron slammed the “unbridled” violence, with nearly 2,400 people arrested and almost 1,000 police officers and gendarmes injured.

Macron ordered a review of intelligence gathering and police preparedness, vowing full transparency over the response by security forces.

The unrest in France and Italy comes as Europe prepares for a series of national elections in the coming year, including votes in Spain, France, Italy, and Poland.

Milan’s mayor, Giuseppe Sala, acknowledged the reasons for the protests were understandable but emphasized that violence against law enforcement and damage to the city were not justifiable.

In Greece, Germany, and Austria, early stages of similar movements are emerging, with mobilizations expected in the coming week.

Between 2000 and 2025, the cost of everyday necessities in Italy rose by 68 percent, while the average full-time wage fell by almost 5 percent.

The Italian cabinet approved sending troops to Milan until the end of the year to maintain security at key sites and enhance monitoring across the area.

Organizers of the protests in France hope to revive the momentum of the 2018-2019 Yellow Vest movement, which challenged Macron during his first term.

What this adds

Background

What's confirmed

• "The reasons for the protest were understandable. The violence against police and the serious damage to the city, however, cannot be justified," he said.
• Issued on: 18/10/2026 - 05:09 Modified: 18/10/2026 - 22:38 President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday slammed the "unbridled" violence that erupted in cost-of-living protests across France, as police battled protesters and looters in new clashes in Paris.
• "It's like we had a war," a 78-year-old Paris resident Mehmet Ozeden told AFP amid burnt street barricades from Saturday's protests.
• "Tonight, we all feel anger and shame," Macron said of the devastation brought by the protests that include town halls burned down and hundreds of businesses looted or damaged.

What's still developing

• "Demonstrating is a right, but setting our cities on fire is not," she said.
• The Indonesian Navy is preparing a dedicated base to berth the Giuseppe Garibaldi aircraft carrier donated by Italy.
• The movement has also drawn people linked to France’s Yellow Vest (gilets jaunes) protests, which began in 2018 over fuel taxes and living costs, broadening the demonstrations into a wider expression of frustration with the government.
• France riots spread as shops are looted and fires rage Rolex store looted amid violent protests in France In an address to the nation, Macron said authorities would increase security and vowed lessons would be learned over the police response.
• The government was ready to impose a state of emergency ‘if needed’, PM Sebastien Lecornu said The French prime minister called for localised curfews on Monday, as protesters blocked the entrance to the Louvre in Paris and authorities scrambled to stem public discontent that over the weekend saw mass cost-of-living protests spill over into some of the worst street violence in recent years.
• A fire set by masked protesters in Limoges largely destroyed the more than 140-year-old town hall, while city halls in Marseille and Lille were broken into and vandalised.
• They are not a single movement, he explained, but several protests happening at the same time, with some “shared grievances”: underfunded education, rising living costs and, for students, uncertain prospects after graduation.
• Published 18 Oct 2026, 12:01 UTC Updated 19 Oct 2026, 17:24 UTC Latest on this story 20 Oct: France’s Cost-of-Living Protests Spread, With Lecornu Saying 1,200 Arrested 1 more This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets.
• “There is nothing revolutionary about vandalising and stealing. Vandalism and theft are not protest, they are criminality,” Meloni wrote on social media on Tuesday, unveiling the decree.
• “Inevitably, all these protests, all these mobilisations, are going to be at the centre of the political conversation,” Alemanno said.
• Meloni wrote on X: "Once again, the women and men of the Law Enforcement Forces have had to face the violence of criminals who, even through organized groups, exploit demonstrations to seek confrontation and sow chaos," she posted.
• Unequivocally condemn these acts of violence and issue a clear appeal for every mobilization to be peaceful." Il Sole 24 news site quoted Francesco Filini, MP for Meloni's Fratelli d’Italia and national program coordinator, as saying: "It is no longer tolerable that every time left-wing extremists take to the streets, scenes of organized destruction unfold.

Sources

• Enlink
• Newscordlink
• Turkiyetodaylink
• Fox23Mainelink
• Al Jazeeralink
• France24link
• Gulfnewslink
• Nationthailandlink
• DWlink
• Scmplink
• Timesofisraellink
• AFPlink
• WarpBeat — background on Italy Approves Troops and Tougher Penalties for Protests link
• WarpBeat — background on France Sees Major Protests Over Education and Cost of Living link
• Forbes Breaking News — video link