Why are people protesting in Italy and how is the government responding?
A week of looting in Milan has turned a cost-of-living protest movement into a test of how far the Italian state will go to contain it. The government has sent in soldiers and created a new offence of violent protest, while marches have spread to eight cities.
THE SHORT ANSWER
Mainly because of the cost of living. Protesters point to soaring fuel and energy prices, high rents, low wages and struggling public services, and many of those on the streets are young. Riots in Milan on 17 and 18 October, with looting and attacks on police, led the government to send 500 more soldiers and pass tougher protest laws. Larger, mostly calm marches followed in eight cities on 24 October, though clashes broke out in Rome, Turin and Bologna.
What happened
On the weekend of 17 and 18 October, groups of mostly young people looted shops, smashed windows, set property on fire and clashed with police in central Milan. Police used water cannons and tear gas. Authorities said more than 100 officers were injured over two days. Milan police said about 2,000 very young protesters took part on the Saturday night, including many naturalised Italians born to foreign parents, as well as foreign nationals. Over two days, 45 people were arrested, 34 of them minors.
On Tuesday 20 October, the cabinet of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni approved a decree that took effect immediately. It sends 500 more soldiers to Milan until the end of 2026, creates a new offence of violent participation in a demonstration, makes parents pay for damage done by their children, and lets police detain 14- to 17-year-olds who have not committed a crime. Meloni said "Destroying and stealing is not protest, it is crime, and the state's response must be firm." She also called the number of young rioters "painful and frightening".
On Saturday 24 October, protests took place in eight Italian cities over wages, the cost of living and public services. Some reports also describe an anti-war element. Milan was largely peaceful, with about 10,000 people at the peak of its main march, soldiers on the streets and luxury shops boarded up. Clashes between police and demonstrators broke out in Rome, Turin and Bologna. Police said nine people were arrested across Italy and 371 were briefly detained. Police also said they had detained a person allegedly linked to organising the "October 17 Movement", the name given to last weekend's protests.
Why it matters
The unrest combines two things at once: a wave of anger over prices and pay, and a government answer that changes the law for minors and parents. The decree must be turned into law by parliament within 60 days, so the measures are still open to debate. The protests are also not only Italian. Reports describe large demonstrations the same weekend in France, Spain, Portugal and Albania, and Paris police detained a record 855 people the weekend before.
- For parents, They can now be ordered to pay for damage their children cause during unrest, even if they were not there.
- For teenagers aged 14 to 17, Police can detain them without a crime if there is evidence they pose a danger, a power that used to apply only to adults.
- For police and soldiers, About 5,000 police and other officers are backed by the extra troops in Milan, but a police union leader said soldiers cannot fix staffing shortages.
- For the government, Meloni faces pressure on several fronts, including truck drivers in the south who have blocked roads over diesel prices.
The background: a squeezed economy and a long history of street politics
A young state with a divided economy
Italy became a nation-state on 17 March 1861, when most of the states of the peninsula were united under King Victor Emmanuel II. The change was not smooth for the south, known as the Mezzogiorno. Historians call the gap that opened between north and south the Southern question. In the decades after unification, northern regions such as Lombardy, Piedmont and Liguria industrialised, while the south stayed behind.
Milan was a power long before that. In the 14th century northern Italy was split into warring city-states, and Milan was among the strongest. Today the news reports describe it as Italy's fashion and finance capital, which is why its shopping streets were the main target of the looting.
Fascism, the republic and the word antifascist
Benito Mussolini created the Fasci di Combattimento, or Combat League, in 1919, and his National Fascist Party came to power in 1922. His regime used the word anti-fascist to describe its opponents. In the 1920s, anti-fascists, many from the labour movement, fought the violent Blackshirts.
After World War II, Italy was left with a destroyed economy and a divided society. A referendum in 1946 led to the republic, and its constitution came into force on 1 January 1948. It recognises habeas corpus, the rule that a person cannot be held without a legal order, and the presumption of innocence. Marchers in Milan on 24 October chanted "We are all antifascists". The reports do not say why that slogan was chosen.
Boom, strikes and the Years of Lead
The 1950s and 1960s brought a long economic boom, called the Italian economic miracle, with a sharp rise in living standards. It lasted almost without a break until the Hot Autumn of 1969 and 1970, a time of massive strikes and social unrest. The oil crisis of 1973 cooled the economy further.
The 1970s are known as the Years of Lead, a period of political violence that included urban riots in Rome and Bologna in 1977. Unemployment rose sharply, especially among the young, and by 1977 one million people under 24 were out of work. Rome and Bologna were also among the cities where clashes broke out this week. That overlap is a coincidence of place, not a link the reports draw.
Slow growth and repeated shocks
Italy was among the countries hit hardest by the Great Recession of 2008 and 2009 and the European debt crisis that followed. The economy shrank by 6.76% over the whole period. A partial recovery between 2014 and 2019 relied on strong exports, but growth stayed well below the euro area average, and in 2019 national output was still 5% below its 2008 level. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic, which hit Italy first among European countries.
From 2022 Italy faced a global energy crisis, with higher gas and other energy prices after Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022. A cost-of-living crisis is a period when everyday costs rise faster than household incomes. Italy's economy page also records an economic impact from the 2026 Iran war, which began on 28 February 2026. The news reports do not say how far that war explains today's fuel prices, so that link is only a possibility.
October 2026: from riots to decree
Meloni has been prime minister since 2022 and has passed a steady stream of security measures since then. Opponents argue that tougher penalties do little to address the underlying causes of crime and disorder.
Calls for protests spread on social media in mid-October. The same Saturday, 17 October, French protests against living costs turned violent, and Paris police detained a record 855 people. In Milan the unrest began that night and continued on Sunday. The cabinet answered on 20 October with the decree. By the next Saturday, authorities had drones, railway station checks and online monitoring in place, and the Milan march passed without incident.
GOOD TO KNOW
The 500 new soldiers join hundreds already stationed in Milan, yet they may use plastic restraint ties only around train stations, and they carry no pepper spray or tasers.
What does the new decree change?
The decree creates an offence of violent participation in a demonstration. Anyone in a group of at least five people who endangers public safety faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to €20,000. Penalties rise if faces are covered or someone is hurt. Authorities can order quick compensation for damage, and parents are liable when minors are responsible.
For young people, two things change. Police can detain 14- to 17-year-olds who have not committed a crime if there is evidence they are dangerous. The decree also presumes that anyone over 14 understands their own actions unless shown otherwise, a question that until now a judge decided. Meloni also promised more detention beds and more judges for the juvenile justice system.
What can the soldiers in Milan actually do?
Less than first expected. The cabinet did not approve giving soldiers policing powers after opposition from President Sergio Mattarella, Italian media reported. The reports so far do not say what his objection was. The defence ministry says the troops will reinforce security at key sites and step up surveillance.
Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said soldiers were only recently allowed to use plastic restraint ties, and only around train stations. They are not authorised to carry pepper spray or tasers. Valter Mazzetti, a police union leader, said soldiers can provide immediate reinforcements but cannot solve police staffing shortages.
Timeline: 1861 to today
A DIVIDED YOUNG STATE
Italy becomes a nation-state under King Victor Emmanuel II, with a lasting gap between a more industrial north and a poorer south.
Mussolini's National Fascist Party comes to power; his regime later labels its opponents anti-fascists.
A referendum leads to the end of the monarchy and the birth of the republic.
The republic's constitution comes into force.
BOOM AND UNREST
The Hot Autumn of massive strikes ends the long postwar economic boom.
Urban riots hit Rome and Bologna during the Years of Lead; a million people under 24 are unemployed.
SLOW GROWTH AND SHOCKS
The Great Recession hits Italy hard, and the economy shrinks by 6.76% over the whole period of crisis.
A partial recovery leaves output in 2019 still 5% below its 2008 level.
Giorgia Meloni takes office as prime minister.
Russia invades Ukraine, adding to a global energy crisis that raises gas and other energy prices.
The 2026 Iran war begins, with economic effects for Italy.
THE RIOTS AND THE RESPONSE
The cabinet sends 500 soldiers to Milan and approves tougher protest penalties, including detention of minors and parental liability.
Thousands march in eight cities; Milan stays calm, but clashes break out in Rome, Turin and Bologna, with nine arrests and 371 brief detentions.
What to watch next
- Parliament's vote. The decree must be converted into law by parliament within 60 days of 20 October.
- The troops. The 500 extra soldiers are due to stay in Milan until the end of 2026.
- The investigation. Police are questioning a person allegedly linked to organising the October 17 Movement, and Milan's welfare councillor says more inquiry is needed into the young rioters' backgrounds and motives.
- More protests. Calls for further demonstrations have circulated on social media, and officials have said they are worried about protesters moving into other neighbourhoods.
Sources
- The Straits Times24 OCT 2026
- Al Jazeera24 OCT 2026
- ABC News24 OCT 2026
- Al Jazeera21 OCT 2026
- The Times of India21 OCT 2026
- ABC News20 OCT 2026
- The Japan Times20 OCT 2026
How this article was made: Implica's editorial system wrote it from the news reports above, with the background drawn from Wikipedia: History of Italy, Economy of Italy, Cost-of-living crisis, Constitution of Italy.