Police reported 60 house searches in 23 Italian cities on Saturday, 31 October. The searches target people accused of inciting riots on social networks. They come after the latest unrest in Milan and Rome, which followed riots in Milan and other cities in mid-October.
A decree with tougher penalties
In the week of 19 October the Italian cabinet approved a decree that raises penalties for violent demonstrators and creates a new offence for taking part in violent protests. Anyone who endangers public safety as part of a group of at least five people at a demonstration faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to 20,000 euros. Higher penalties also apply when protesters conceal their faces or when people are injured. Parents would be financially liable for damage caused by their children, and the authorities can order rapid compensation for damage that has been caused. The package was adopted in response to the mid-October disorder.
Youth protests return for a third weekend
Protests took place across Italy on Friday, 30 October, drawing mainly young people in Turin, Milan, Bologna, Florence and Naples. Demonstrators protested against the government, high living costs and wars, and they demanded higher wages and better public services. First estimates put the nationwide turnout above 100,000 people. It is the third weekend in a row that young people have taken to the streets, and the number of protesters has grown with each one.
The first wave on the weekend of 17 and 18 October was marked by looting and violent clashes on the edges of otherwise peaceful marches. By contrast, the youth protests on the weekend of 24 and 25 October passed largely without violence. Participants on Friday hoped the focus would return to their demands rather than to a small group of violent troublemakers.
- First protest wave: looting and violent clashes on the edges of peaceful marches over the weekend of 17 and 18 October
- Cabinet approves decree with harsher penalties for violent protesters and parental liability
- Nationwide youth protests; first estimates put turnout above 100,000
- Police report 60 house searches in 23 cities of people accused of inciting riots online
Wages, the strike and the wider wave
The demonstrations are part of a wave that has also reached other European countries. German youth demonstrations are planned for Saturday in many cities, under the motto 'Gen Z regelt'. The protests combine complaints about living costs, military spending and stagnant pay. An OECD comparison shows that Italian real wages in 2025 were lower than in 1997, and no other EU country saw real wages develop as weakly over 30 years.
Real wages in France rose 27.5% since 1995 and in Germany 23.7%, figures that highlight the gap Italian protesters point to. Separately, the USB union had called a general strike against high energy prices that could have paralysed large parts of Italy's transport system. Transport Minister Matteo Salvini blocked the strike at the last minute with an ordinance.