Italian police arrest hundreds of protesters over tense clashes, looting businesses

By New York Post (World News) | Created at 2026-10-19 14:20:30 | Updated at 2026-10-19 22:13:35 7 hours ago

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Italian police detained 271 young people during unrest in Milan on Sunday, authorities said, ​after a second day of protests over poor ‌public services and rising costs that saw demonstrators clash with officers, loot stores and vandalize property.

Police in riot ​gear fired tear gas and water cannon as ​several hundred hooded protesters set bins ablaze ⁠and looted stores including sports retailers Decathlon and ​Arc’teryx and phone store Vodafone in the city centre, according ​to TV footage.

Police officers carry one of the young demonstrators as protests continued in Milan over rising costs. Anadolu via Getty Images
Masked protesters in Milan vandalized businesses and looted stores during unrest on Oct. 18. Anadolu via Getty Images

Of those taken to police stations, 32 were arrested, including 23 minors and 13 foreign nationals, police ​said on Monday. A further 28 people were ​reported to judicial authorities.

The unrest followed similar clashes on Saturday in ‌northern ⁠cities including Milan, Bologna, Brescia, Bergamo and Turin, where 28 protesters were arrested, according to a police report released on Sunday.

The disturbances echoed unrest in neighboring ​France, where ​hundreds of ⁠thousands of people angered by rising living costs and declining public services took ​to the streets on Saturday in ​some of ⁠the country’s most violent protests in years.

One of the masked protesters holds two looted cakes and a bag of Kinder Bueno. Anadolu via Getty Images
Protesters hold a Palestinian flag during a demonstration in Piazza del Duomo on Oct. 18. Anadolu via Getty Images

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who faces an election next year, ⁠condemned ​the violence and announced a ​government meeting on Monday to discuss how to address the situation.

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