Police clashed with demonstrators in Milan and Bologna on Saturday as protests over rising living costs escalated into violence, prompting the use of tear gas and water cannons and leading
to multiple arrests.
In Milan, officers fired tear gas after protesters threw stones in the square outside the city’s iconic Gothic cathedral, according to Italian media reports. Riot police subsequently moved to disperse groups of demonstrators who had gathered in the surrounding streets.
Tensions also spread to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, the prestigious shopping arcade adjoining the cathedral square, where police attempted to remove hooded protesters who had broken away from the main demonstration.
The unrest disrupted the heart of the city. Shops lowered their shutters, tourists rushed to leave the area, and Duomo metro station was temporarily closed. Italian media reported that several people were injured and arrests were made during the confrontations.
In Bologna, police deployed a water cannon to disperse crowds after a demonstration over the cost of living turned violent. Seven people were arrested, according to the ANSA news agency.
The disturbances prompted a sharp response from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose government faces a general election next year. Condemning the violence, she stressed that the right to protest should not be used to justify attacks or public disorder.
“Demonstrating is a right. Turning our cities into battlegrounds is not,” Meloni wrote on X.
The confrontations in Italy came amid a wider wave of public discontent across Europe over the rising cost of living and concerns about deteriorating public services.
In neighbouring France, tens of thousands of people took to the streets on Saturday in demonstrations fuelled by economic pressures and dissatisfaction with public services. The protests were among the most violent the country had experienced in years, highlighting the growing political and social challenges facing European governments.
The unrest in Milan and Bologna underscores the difficulties authorities face in balancing the right to peaceful assembly with the need to maintain public order as economic grievances continue to drive people onto the streets. Photo by Kevin.B, Wikimedia commons.
