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| Italy Succeeds in Keeping Protests Peaceful by Deploying Troops |
To prevent violence and looting in the name of protest, the Italian government deployed more than 5,000 soldiers alongside police in several cities, including the capital Rome and Milan. The strategy has worked. Although protest marches and rallies took place in various cities on Saturday, there were no reports of violence, looting, or other untoward incidents.
In a report citing Italian media, AP said thousands of young men and women marched through the streets of several Italian cities on Saturday, including Milan, Rome, and Turin. To ensure that the violent clashes and looting seen in similar protests last week did not happen again, the authorities deployed a large number of police and soldiers.
Their effort was largely successful. The protest in Milan stayed peaceful. In Rome and Turin there were sporadic clashes between protesters and police, but these were not significant.
According to Italian media reports, soldiers were deployed in Milan as thousands of young people marched through the streets, and protective wooden covers were placed in front of luxury shops. Most shops reopened in the afternoon.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has announced several tough measures to stop looting and violence in the name of protest. These include deploying an additional 500 soldiers in Milan and tightening penalties for minors. According to police, a large share of last week's violent protesters were minors. Media reports say police detained several minors in Milan as a precaution.
Although the ongoing protests in France are at the center of international attention, large demonstrations were also held on Saturday in many European cities, including Milan, Rome, Madrid, Lisbon, and Tirana.
These protests have raised a range of issues, including education, corruption, the anti-war movement, pensions, and housing.
As evening fell in Milan, a huge crowd, mostly of young men and women, gathered. They chanted slogans against Prime Minister Meloni and carried banners reading "We don't accept the state's lies."
Footage broadcast on local television showed a group of protesters dumping manure in front of the office of Italy's energy regulator and symbolically burning a large electronic billboard. The billboard listed the government's achievements.
Soldiers had already been deployed in Milan, Italy's main financial center and most prosperous commercial city. On Saturday, another 500 joined them. These soldiers assisted the roughly 5,000 police and security personnel deployed in Milan. The authorities used drone surveillance, searches at railway stations, rapid response units (RRUs), and online monitoring to identify incitement to violence.
According to Italian media, Pierfrancesco Majorino, who has announced his candidacy for mayor of Milan, joined Saturday's march. He will contest the center-left coalition's primary in early 2027. Milan's current center-left mayor, Giuseppe Sala, who has held the post since 2016, is not running again.
In Milan's fashion district, the glass windows of many luxury shops, including Omega, Tiffany, and Gucci, were covered with wooden planks. The Apple Store was also shut and remained closed on Saturday evening, even after other shops reopened.
Last weekend, rioters entered shops on the streets near the central Piazza del Duomo and looted sneakers, sportswear, and various sports goods.
Fearing that protesters might spread to other parts of the city, the authorities extended security measures beyond the city center.
On Saturday evening, the protesters ended their march peacefully in front of the Politecnico di Milano, more than 3 kilometers (2 miles) from the city center.
According to Milan police, about 2,000 young protesters were involved in last week's violence and looting. Many of them are foreign nationals, while others are second-generation immigrants who have received Italian citizenship. Over two days, police arrested 45 people, 34 of them minors.
Some far-right individuals linked to the Inter Milan football club, many of them hooligans, appeared briefly and chanted anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim slogans. Police quickly separated them from the others.
Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said the soldiers deployed on Saturday were only recently authorized to use plastic restraint ties (plastic hand-binding bands). However, this is limited to areas around railway stations, not the whole city. He added that they are not permitted to carry pepper spray or Tasers (electric shock devices).
Security was also tightened in Rome. The authorities closed off luxury shopping streets and increased surveillance around the Circus Maximus and Piazza del Popolo.