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Italy protests leave 141 police injured, 197 arrested
Published : Monday, 19 October, 2026 at 5:05 PM
Observer Online Report
At least 141 police officers have been injured and 197 people arrested as protests over the rising cost of living, fuel prices and higher taxes escalated across Italy on Saturday and Sunday, with clashes reported in several major cities.
The demonstrations, organised under the banner of ‘Italia in Piazza’, intensified on Sunday (October 18), with police taking 197 people to police stations and bringing 43 of them before courts, according to Italian broadcaster Sky TG24. On Saturday (October 17), police arrested another 28 people, including 12 minors, on charges of causing disorder, attacking police and damaging public property.
According to police estimates, around 5,000 people joined the protests in Milan, 3,000 in Turin, 2,000 in Bologna, 800 in Bergamo and 600 in Brescia over the weekend.
In Milan, protesters allegedly hurled stones, bottles, fireworks and barricades at police, who responded with tear gas and water cannon. Shops in the city centre were vandalised and looted, while a vehicle belonging to Italy’s military police was destroyed.
Police arrested 17 people in Milan in connection with the unrest. Citing the Italian retailers’ association Confcommercio, Sky TG24 reported that shops and businesses suffered damage worth more than 500,000 euros over the two days.
In Turin, police arrested an adult on charges of obstructing public officials and three minors for allegedly carrying Molotov cocktails. In Bologna, five minors were arrested following clashes near the railway station, where protesters threw bottles, stones and barricades at police. Officers used tear gas and water cannon to restore order.
Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said the protesters’ grievances were understandable, but violence against police officers and extensive damage to the city were unacceptable. Bologna Mayor Matteo Lepore also condemned the unrest, urging young Italians not to allow others to use the demonstrations as a pretext for violence.
Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said his party, the League, would reintroduce a parliamentary proposal requiring organisers of demonstrations deemed high-risk to provide financial guarantees to cover potential damage.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed solidarity with law enforcement personnel and urged opposition parties to unequivocally condemn violence carried out under the guise of protests. She also acknowledged that thousands of people had demonstrated peacefully.
- MaT
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Editor : Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury
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Published by the Editor on behalf of the Observer Ltd. from Globe Printers, 24/A, New Eskaton Road, Ramna, Dhaka.
Editorial, News and Commercial Offices : Aziz Bhaban (2nd floor), 93, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka-1000.
Phone: PABX- 41053001-06; Advertisement: 41053012; 01793317829, 01550707291, E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] Online: email: [email protected] 41053014; 01550707297 Advertisement: 01550707296
