150 Italian Police Hurt as Cost-of-Living Protests Turn Violent
Authorities detained roughly 80 people and shut down Bologna's central railway station during CGIL-organized marches.
More than 150 police officers were injured across three Italian cities Saturday after demonstrations over stagnant wages and housing costs devolved into street battles, prompting authorities to detain roughly 80 people and shut down a major railway hub. The unrest marks the sharpest escalation of labor-driven violence in Italy since the pandemic-era lockdowns.
Rioters looted shops inside Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, a 19th-century arcade adjacent to the Piazza del Duomo. Police deployed water cannons to clear the square. Officers detained 50 demonstrators, including minors, according to the LaPresse news agency cited by The Associated Press. At least two officers required medical treatment at that location alone.
The toll was heavier elsewhere. A police union told Reuters that 56 officers were hurt in Bologna, where authorities preemptively closed the central railway station. In Turin, the interior ministry reported about 100 officers injured and approximately 30 arrests after security forces intercepted individuals carrying cobblestones and hammers specifically intended for breaking windows.
Saturday’s mobilizations were organized by the Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro (CGIL), Italy’s oldest labor union with over 5 million members. CGIL has historically maintained ties to left-wing political parties. Demonstrators marched against rising rents, low wages and deteriorating public services, mirroring recent economic protests that paralyzed French and Spanish cities earlier this month.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni used social media Sunday morning to back law enforcement and pressure opposition lawmakers. “Demonstrating is a right. Setting our cities ablaze is not,” she posted on X. She demanded political rivals issue an unequivocal condemnation of the clashes, warning that silence effectively justifies the destruction.
Francesco Filini, a lawmaker for Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia party and its national program coordinator, told the Il Sole 24 news site the damage was premeditated. “We are not dealing with mere demonstrators, but with organized groups that plan violence,” he said.
Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala, who represents the center-left, acknowledged the economic grievances driving the marches while drawing a line at property destruction. “The reasons for the protests were understandable,” Sala told the Associated Press. “The violence against law enforcement and serious damage to the city are not justifiable.”
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
