After France unrest, Italy tightens security amid violent protests in Milan

After France has been rocked by violent protests, leading to enhanced security arrangements to avoid further clashes, Italy on Tuesday also approved the deployment of 500 troops to Milan after violent clashes as fuel price protests hit pasta production and food deliveries in southern Italy.

Some luxury brands have kept their shops shut in the centre of Italy's fashion hub after looting and riots over the weekend by groups of mostly young protesters.

A cabinet meeting on Tuesday approved a series of security measures, including making it easier to detain minors and introducing the crime of “violent participation in a demonstration”.

The government also agreed to impose fines on parents for damage caused by their children during demonstrations.

However, the cabinet did not approve a proposal to give soldiers policing powers, as expected, following opposition from President Sergio Mattarella, Italian media reported.

“Destroying and stealing is not protest, it is crime, and the state's response must be firm,” Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a video posted on X after the cabinet meeting.

Meloni said nearly 200 police officers had been injured and 330 people detained. She added that around half of those detained were of “foreign origin”, including people born abroad and those born in Italy to foreign-born parents.

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Fuel protests disrupt food supplies

Italy has witnessed protests in recent days over rising living costs and fuel prices, with high school and university students, farmers and truck drivers taking to the streets.

Truckers have blocked or disrupted traffic across southern Italy, affecting vital food supply chains and disrupting pasta production and deliveries.

Meloni faces elections next year, with the state of the economy, security and immigration expected to be key issues.

Unrest spreads across Europe

The developments come amid growing unrest across Europe. France has witnessed student-led demonstrations over high living costs and deteriorating school conditions, which escalated into clashes with police, arson, looting and localised curfews.

Protests have also swept across Spain and Portugal over housing affordability, while Italy and Belgium have seen demonstrations linked to education cuts and inflation. Albania has faced unrest over allegations of political corruption.

The wave of instability has also raised concerns in financial markets, contributing to volatility in European bond yields and the euro.