Milan Cost-of-Living March Turns Violent: Shops Looted, Fires Set, 50 Detained

“Demonstrating is a right. Setting our cities ablaze is not”: read Meloni’s response to the Milan riots

October 18, 2026

Europe’s anger over prices is spilling into the streets. What’s happening in Italy and across the continent?

About 50 people, many of them minors, were detained, and at least two police officers were injured

A march against wars and rising living costs in Milan ended in chaos on Saturday, with looting, fires and clashes with police in the heart of the city. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the violence in a post on X.

From peaceful march to street clashes

The protest began peacefully. But masked demonstrators later threw stones, paving blocks and other objects at riot police and set fire to barricades made from bar tables. Images from the aftermath showed a badly damaged carabinieri car. Police used water cannon and tear gas to disperse the crowds.

Looters targeted stores, and Piazza del Duomo and a luxury shopping arcade, usually crowded with shoppers on a Saturday, were emptied.

Injuries and detentions

According to the news agency LaPresse, at least two police officers were injured and about 50 demonstrators were detained, many of them minors.

Meloni: “Setting our cities ablaze is not” a right

“Demonstrating is a right. Setting our cities ablaze is not,” Meloni wrote. She blamed “hooligans” who exploit demonstrations to create chaos, attack those responsible for security and hold entire cities hostage. She also called on political forces across the spectrum to reject political violence together.

Milan’s centre-left mayor, Giuseppe Sala, said the reasons behind the protests were understandable, but that violence against law enforcement and serious damage to the city could not be justified.

More than Milan

The unrest was not limited to Milan. Rai News reported that rallies organised by a group called the “Italy in the Square” committee also turned violent in other Italian cities, including Bologna.

A wider European picture

Across Europe, hundreds of thousands of people have taken part in separate, uncoordinated protests over living costs in recent days, in countries including Belgium, Portugal and France. French police used tear gas and water cannon against violent protesters who joined the rallies there.

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