MILAN (AP) — Thousands of young people marched through the streets of several Italian cities, including Milan, Rome and Turin, on Saturday as authorities deployed large numbers of police and soldiers in a largely successful attempt to avoid a repeat of events. violent clashes and looting which marred similar protests last week.
The demonstration in Milan remained peaceful, but there were brief clashes with police in Rome and Turin.
In Milan, thousands of young people marched through the streets as soldiers were deployed and luxury boutiques were closed, but by late afternoon most stores had opened, Italian media reported.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced a series of measures, including sending 500 additional troops to Milan and tougher penalties for minors, who police said made up a large portion of the violent protesters last week. In Milan, police arrested several minors as a preventative measure, media reported.
While demonstrations in France have attracted international attention, large demonstrations also shook many European cities on Saturday, from Milan to Rome via Madrid, Lisbon and Tirana.
The protests cover a wide range of issues from education and corruption to anti-war movements, pensions and housing.
Military vehicles and luxury stores closed in Milan
In Milan, huge crowds, mainly young people, gathered after dark, chanting insults at Meloni and waving banners such as “No to the lies of the state.”
A group of protesters dumped manure in front of Italy’s energy regulator and burned a symbolic and oversized electricity bill, footage shown on local television showed.
The 500 troops deployed to Milan add to the hundreds already stationed there, supporting around 5,000 police and other security personnel. Authorities used drone surveillance, station checks, rapid response units and online monitoring to detect possible calls for violence.
Mayoral candidate Pierfrancesco Majorino, who announced his candidacy on Thursday, joined the protesters and highlighted how peaceful the day had been, according to Italian media. He will run in a center-left primary in early 2027. The center-left mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala, who has held the position since 2016, will not run again.
Many stores, including luxury boutiques in Milan’s fashion district including Omega, Tiffany and Gucci, have closed their windows. The Apple Store also closed and remained closed even as others reopened.
Last weekend, rioters broke into stores, targeting sneakers, sportswear and sporting goods in the streets along the city’s central Duomo square.
Security measures have expanded beyond the city center amid fears protesters could move to other neighborhoods.
The demonstrators ended their march peacefully on Saturday evening in front of the Polytechnic of Milan, more than 3 kilometers from the city center.
Authorities said Saturday they were investigating a 30-year-old independent journalist believed to be the “mastermind” of the new October 17 movement, which has been the main driver of recent protests in Italy.
Milan police say last week’s violence and looting involved around 2,000 very young protesters, many of whom were “naturalized second-generation Italians”, alongside foreign nationals. In two days, the police arrested 45 people, including 34 minors.
A group of around 30 far-right activists, described as hooligans linked to the Inter Milan football club, made a brief appearance chanting anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim slogans, but were isolated by police.
Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said soldiers deployed on Saturday were only recently allowed to use plastic ties and only in areas around train stations, not throughout the city. They are not allowed to carry pepper spray or Tasers, he said.
Protesters attempt to force entry to the Colosseum in Rome
Security was also stepped up in Rome, where authorities locked down luxury shopping streets and tightened controls around the Circus Maximus and Piazza del Popolo.
A small number of protesters attempted to force their way into the Colosseum, but were removed by guards. Elsewhere, several hundred students demonstrated peacefully to emphasize that they were not rioters.
“I think the images of last week were really something terrible, especially for young people, for students, for the vast majority of young generations who want to study… and do not accept to be represented by those who use problems and needs to devastate entire cities,” said Riccardo Ponzio, national president of a far-right Italian student association.
Another anti-war march took place in central Rome. Organizers sought to distance themselves from potential unrest, urging participants to keep their faces uncovered and hands visible.
But it was these protesters who briefly clashed with police near the Piazza della Repubblica, even as organizers tried to hold back the crowds with batons and tear gas. Eventually, the protesters retreated when a water cannon was ignited. They retreated to a location about half a kilometer (mile) away.
Clashes and buildings burned in Albania
In Tirana, the Albanian capital, riot police used water cannons against large groups of protesters, some of whom set government buildings on fire and threw projectiles at police. Authorities said 2,500 police officers were patrolling the streets Saturday.
For more than a week, demonstrators threw stonesFlares, firebombs and fireworks were thrown at police who used batons and tear gas during clashes in the city center.
High school and university students are demanding lower tuition fees, greater state investment in education and protesting corruption in the education system. Some joined a broader anti-government movement calling for the resignation of socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama.
Another protest organized by the opposition outside the prime minister’s office turned violent earlier, with some activists lighting fires in the street.
Rama said on Saturday that his government was preparing a response to the students’ demands and called on them for dialogue. He warned that violent protesters would face sanctions.
Pensions and housing trigger protests in Madrid and Lisbon
Thousands of pensioners and others marched peacefully in the Spanish capital on Saturday to demand that public pensions not be affected.
“They are threatening us with privatizing pensions. It’s just another thing they want to take advantage of,” said Maria José Benito, 68.
The demonstrations preceded next month’s early elections while Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s Socialist Party criticized the conservative opposition Popular Party for making overtures in favor of the privatization of public pensions. Spain has also been rocked this fall by protests over housing, with rent and housing prices rising in recent years beyond what many Spaniards can afford.
Taking inspiration from the Spanish, protesters in Lisbon demanding affordable housing marched through the city on Saturday.
They also targeted recent measures announced by Prime Minister Luis Montenegro’s government, including easing the cap on annual rent increases and making it easier to evict tenants who fail to pay their rent.
Montenegro defends the measures, saying they aim to build trust between tenants and landlords and boost the rental market. Protesters say the measures are not balanced and put tenants in a more vulnerable position.
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Nellas reported from Athens, Greece, and Hui from London. Associated Press writers Suman Naishadham in Madrid, Giada Zampano in Rome and video journalists Niccolò Lupone in Milan, Veronica Sauchelli in Rome, Alicia León in Madrid and Helena Alves in Lisbon contributed to this report.
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