Protests Against High Living Costs in Milan, Bologna and Across France: Tear Gas, Water Cannons and Seven Arrests in Bologna
On October 17 demonstrations against high living costs took place in Italy and France, where they were joined by high school students after more than three weeks of school blockades.
Protests against high living costs took place in Italy and France on October 17. In Milan the march was organized by “Italia in Piazza,” and part of the crowd broke away from the main procession and clashed with police. Demonstrators threw stones and other objects near the Duomo, and police used tear gas, Makfax reports. Police tried to remove masked people from the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, shops lowered their shutters, and the Duomo metro station was closed during the clashes. There are injured and several arrests, but exact numbers have not been published.
In Bologna police used water cannons to disperse demonstrators after the march turned into clashes; the agency ANSA reports seven arrests. Macedonian media link the unrest to protests in several European countries over high prices and worsening public services.
In France, according to the Associated Press, calls for demonstrations on October 17 were against rising living costs, joined by high school students protesting education conditions after more than three weeks of school blockades. More than 80 marches and hundreds of actions were expected nationwide, and Greta Thunberg joined students at a high school in Saint-Denis. In recent weeks thousands of people have been arrested in France, hundreds injured, and schools set on fire. Some teenagers have suffered severe injuries, which are blamed on police riot-control weapons.
President Emmanuel Macron appealed for calm and respect for people and property, saying “there is a constitutional right to protest,” and called the presence of people coming “solely to cause damage and create unrest” unacceptable. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez suspended the use of one type of police grenade after a 15-year-old lost a hand. Police banned some gatherings in central Paris and closed several Metro stations, and the protests are supported by the CGT union. From the sources checked it is not possible to judge how many people took part exactly, so figures on scale are preliminary.
MKNews Hub · Macedonia · October 18, 2026
