Sara Guglielmetti Yesterday, Saturday, October 17, 2026, was a day of clashes and violence. Not only in Rome, where there was a demonstration promoted by the CGIL, but protests also took place in Milan, Turin, and Bologna, against the high cost of living, fuel prices, and tax pressure.
Clashes and violence in Milan, Turin, and Bologna
They were supposed to be demonstrations against the high cost of living, the cost of gasoline, and tax pressure, but instead they turned into real urban guerrilla warfare.
The most serious situations occurred in Milan , Turin, and Bologna. The Lombardy capital was reduced to a battlefield, with Piazza Duomo besieged by hundreds of young people dressed in black, who forced the police to retreat under the hurling of firecrackers, barriers, and bottles. Violence and clashes also erupted in Turin and Bologna, with stones and firecrackers being thrown at the police, again by hooded youths.
The government's reaction to the incident was immediate. Here's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's response.
Clashes in Milan, Turin, and Bologna. Giorgia Meloni: "It's not a right to set cities ablaze."
Following the violent clashes in Milan, Turin and Bologna yesterday, Saturday 17 October 2026, with hooded youths who transformed the demonstration against the high cost of living into a real urban guerrilla warfare, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reacted as follows , with a post on social media (to which she attached the video of the clashes in Milan): “I have great respect for the thousands of people who demonstrated peacefully today, also participating in the mobilization called by the CGIL which also saw the participation of left-wing leaders.
In Milan, as these images show, stones were thrown at law enforcement, officers were injured, and damage and violence forced the march to be interrupted. In Turin, people were stopped with cobblestones and glass-breaking hammers. In Bologna, the riots led to the precautionary closure of the train station. Hooligans are exploiting the demonstrations to sow chaos, attack those who ensure security, and hold entire cities hostage. Demonstrating is a right. Setting our cities on fire is not. ” He then appealed to the opposition: “Let's not be ambiguous about this. Let's unambiguously condemn this violence and make a clear appeal for every demonstration to be peaceful. Faced with scenes like this, rejection must be unanimous. Any reticence becomes justification. Silence is unacceptable.” These are Matteo Renzi 's words on Facebook: “ Those who destroy and attack the Carabinieri are not young revolutionaries but criminals. Demonstrating against the high cost of living is a civil right, sending a police officer to the hospital is hooliganism. Those who throw firebombs in Milan's Piazza del Duomo aren't against the government: they're against the institutions. We know very well which side we're on: against the violent, now and always." Tajani, Salvini, and Crosetto also condemned the situation.