Italy protests stay small and mostly peaceful under heavy security in Rome and Milan

Protests across Italy on Saturday stayed small and mostly peaceful under a massive security deployment, a week after violent clashes in Milan, AFP reported. A few thousand people rallied in Rome and Milan despite the heavy security, chanting slogans against the government and the police.

Some 3,000 people marched through Milan, bringing traffic in the centre to a standstill, while a similar number rallied in Rome in areas near the Colosseum and the central train station in front of lines of police in anti-riot gear. Surveillance helicopters hovered over Milan’s central Piazza del Duomo, soldiers in fatigues roamed in groups, and five military vehicles and a water cannon could be seen parked nearby.

In Milan, some stores closed early and others boarded their windows following outbreaks of looting in the fashion hub last weekend, while others stayed open after the city’s mayor, Giuseppe Sala, urged people not to “panic”. “Marching is a right. We need to make our voices heard,” Alessio Scimone, a 24-year-old betting shop worker and protester in Milan, told AFP. Stefania Segalina, a 55-year-old volunteer street fundraiser for the charity MSF, said she was relieved clashes had not broken out.

In Rome, right-wing student groups marched through the streets in a demonstration called “Unlock Everything”, organised in opposition to recent left-wing student protests, the Associated Press reported. Security was also heightened around the Circus Maximus and Piazza del Popolo, and an anti-war march was scheduled from the central Piazza della Repubblica.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government approved tough security measures this week, and police carried out dozens of searches and arrests in advance of the planned rallies. Police said on Saturday they had arrested a 30-year-old man suspected of being the figure behind the “October 17 Movement”, a group which had called for the protests. After last weekend’s clashes, the government deployed 500 soldiers to Milan and approved a decree easing detention rules for minors and imposing fines on their parents for damage done by their children during demonstrations.

The demonstrations are part of a wave of protests by students, truck drivers and farmers over cost-of-living issues such as housing and fuel prices. The truck blockades that had paralysed southern Italy, leading to acute fuel and food shortages for a week, have now been lifted, and the government this week approved financial measures to help businesses dealing with the spike in fuel prices.

Sources

• AFP via The Peninsula — “Thousands protest in Italy under heavy security” (24 Oct 2026): https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/24/10/2026/thousands-protest-in-italy-under-heavy-security
• Associated Press via Times of Israel — “Hundreds of soldiers sent to Milan as protests planned across Europe” (24 Oct 2026): https://www.timesofisrael.com/hundreds-of-soldiers-sent-to-milan-as-protests-planned-across-europe/
• AFP via Inquirer — “Italy protests: Heavy security in Rome, Milan and other cities” (24 Oct 2026): https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/778463/italy-protests-heavy-security-in-rome-milan-and-other-cities/amp