MILAN – Italy has sent additional troops to Milan as the country’s fashion and financial hub braces for another round of protests, just seven days after clashes with police and widespread looting.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni unveiled a series of measures in response, including the deployment of 500 more soldiers to Milan and harsher penalties for minors. Police said young people made up a significant share of those involved in the previous weekend’s violence.
Although protests in France have drawn much of the global focus, demonstrations are also planned in several other European cities on Saturday, stretching from Portugal to Albania.
Milan
The new contingent of 500 soldiers will join hundreds already assigned to Milan, reinforcing roughly 5,000 police officers and other security personnel. Authorities have introduced drone patrols, railway station checks, rapid-response teams and online surveillance aimed at identifying potential calls for violence. Mayor Giuseppe Sala has voiced concern that unrest could return this weekend and backed the decision to bring in additional troops.
During last weekend’s unrest, groups broke into shops on streets branching out from the city’s central Duomo square, stealing sneakers, sports clothing and other athletic merchandise.
Saturday’s security operation will cover more than just Milan’s downtown area. Officials fear demonstrators could shift into surrounding neighborhoods to avoid zones under especially heavy police protection.
Valter Mazzetti, secretary general of the Fsp police union, told The Associated Press that the soldiers could offer valuable short-term support. However, he said their presence would not solve broader staffing problems, emphasizing that crowd control depends on officers with specialized training.
Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said on social media that troops do not have many of the tools used by police during public-order operations. Soldiers were only recently authorized to use plastic restraint ties, and then only near railway stations rather than across the wider city. They are also not permitted to carry pepper spray or Tasers, he said.
Milan police estimated that around 2,000 very young people took part in last week’s looting and violence. Officials said many were “naturalized, second-generation Italians,” while others were foreign nationals. Authorities made 45 arrests over two days, including 34 minors.
Lamberto Bertolé, Milan’s welfare councilor, told the AP that further research is needed to determine the backgrounds and reasons of the young people who participated in the looting.
“Many young people increasingly lack a sense of belonging and prospects for the future. Part of our society feels excluded, amid social and economic inequalities,” said Bertolé, a member of the center-left Democratic Party.
Rome
Authorities have also tightened security in Rome, restricting access to upscale shopping streets and increasing checks near the Circus Maximus and Piazza del Popolo. Several demonstrations are expected, including a rally organized by right-wing students.
An anti-war demonstration is due to begin in the early afternoon at Piazza della Repubblica. Officials are concerned that violent groups could attempt to join the march.
Organizers have urged demonstrators to reject any disorder by keeping their faces uncovered and their hands clearly visible.
Beyond Rome and Milan, protests have been announced in at least seven more Italian cities. The recently established “October 17 Movement” is leading the mobilization with student groups, grassroots unions and anti-war organizations.
Tirana
Demonstrations are also expected to continue in Albania’s capital. For more than a week, protesters have thrown rocks, flares, firebombs and fireworks at police, who have responded with batons, water cannon and tear gas during confrontations in central Tirana.
High school and university students are calling for reduced tuition, increased public funding for education and action against corruption in the school system. Their campaign has merged with a wider anti-government movement demanding the resignation of Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama.
Madrid
Retirees and others are expected to protest in Spain’s capital to demand public pensions aren’t meddled with.
They have mobilized ahead of next month’s snap election as Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s Socialist Party criticized the conservative opposition Popular Party for making overtures about privatizing public pensions.
Spain has been roiled by protests this fall around the issue of housing, as rental and home costs have risen in recent years beyond what many Spaniards can afford.
In Spanish cities, a housing supply shortage has worsened thanks to population growth driven by tourism, immigration and a proliferation of short-term rentals. The September eviction of an 87-year-old woman from her rented apartment in Madrid triggered huge street protests in the capital and elsewhere.
The movement is centered at a tent camp protest that has remained in the capital’s Puerta del Sol square for almost a month.
Lisbon
Taking their cue from Spaniards, protesters in Lisbon who have been gathering to demand affordable housing are expected to march across the city on Saturday.
They have also targeted recent measures announced by the government of Prime Minister Luis Montenegro that include easing the cap on yearly rent increases and facilitating the eviction of tenants who fail to pay rent.
Montenegro defends the measures saying that it aims at reinforcing trust between tenants and landlords and boosting the rentals market. Protesters claim that the measures are not balanced and put tenants in a more vulnerable position.
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Associated Press writers Suman Naishadham in Madrid, Giada Zampano in Rome, and videojournalist Helena Alves in Lisbon contributed to this report.
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