Unrest in France has spilled beyond its borders, with Milan descending into a second night of disorder as far-Left activists faced accusations of fuelling a wider campaign of violence across Europe.
President Emmanuel Macron promised to pursue those who had “sought to bring down the Republic” after a turbulent weekend that drew around half a million protesters.
By Sunday, the unrest had reached Italy, where rioters were filmed throwing bottles, looting shops and damaging buildings and other property.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni ordered an urgent security meeting as officials confronted scenes in Milan that echoed the looting and disorder seen in Paris.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump had blamed immigration for the turmoil in France, where a historic town hall was set ablaze, businesses were ransacked and hundreds of people were injured.
With unrest also spreading to Milan and Lisbon over the weekend, Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: “France is burning!
“The immigration of people from an entirely different world, people with hatred in their hearts, has shattered that once great country.
“Close your Borders and take control, before it is too late!”
Protesters vandalise a shop during demonstrations in Milan, Italy, on Sunday as unrest spread across Europe
Three men dressed in black leave a shop through a smashed glass door, with debris scattered across the floor
Flames engulf Limoges city hall after a group forced its way inside during protests over the rising cost of living
Kirill Dmitriev, a liaison between Vladimir Putin and Washington, said: “Left-wing globalists are sowing migration-driven chaos.”
The demonstrations began a month ago with teachers and students protesting staff shortages. Since then, they have expanded into a broader movement opposing soaring living costs.
The protests have also attracted extremist politicians and activists, including Jean-Luc Melenchon, leader of the hard-Left France Unbowed party.
Footage from the weekend showed looters breaking into designer shops and taking luxury goods amid what officials described as “unrestrained violence”.
Dozens of hooded young men were recorded storming premium retailers, including Christian Dior and Louis Vuitton, leaving displays of costly clothing and jewellery stripped bare.
Mr Macron blamed “agitators from far-Left fringe groups, joined by numerous criminals” for driving France into what he called “unbridled violence”.
He appealed for “unity” after the chaotic weekend, during which nearly 2,400 people were arrested. Almost 1,000 police officers and gendarmes were injured, seven of them seriously.
The violence in Milan began on Saturday on the margins of an authorised demonstration over the cost of living. Similar clashes were later reported in the northern cities of Bologna and Turin after separate protests.
Police make multiple detentions and arrests as young demonstrators flee during urban unrest in Milan following protests
Protesters gathered in Milan to take part in disorder which was condemned in strong terms by the country’s prime minister
Two rubbish cans are seen kicked over onto the floor on tram tracks in Milan amid violent disorder
Pink smoke is seen rising from a street in Milan after police carried out multiple arrests during the second day of riots
Protesters are seen vandalizing a shop during disorder in Milan, with many covering their face and dressing in dark colours
The historic Milan Cathedral (Duomo di Milano) was obscured by tear gas during violent protests
On Sunday, police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse groups in the Milan square and photographs showed young people, many wearing masks, throwing objects at police cars.
A supermarket on a shopping street leading off the Duomo plaza was ransacked, rubbish cans overturned and scooters and bicycles vandalised.
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The mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala, said he had witnessed ‘smashed shop windows, looted stores, and frightened citizens’.
‘What happened here is what we are seeing in many cities around the world,’ he said.
‘I’m very worried because it’s a new phenomenon, which also originates from an international scenario and therefore feeds itself.’
Prime Minister Meloni on Saturday called the vandals ‘thugs who exploit demonstrations to spread chaos, attack those who guarantee security, and hold entire cities hostage’.
‘To demonstrate is a right. To lay our cities to waste is not,’ she wrote on X.
Government ministers joined Ms Meloni in condemning the attacks. Matteo Salvini, head of the hard-Right League party and deputy prime minister, described the scenes as ‘urban warfare’.
Demonstrators protest against housing shortage, soaring rents and low wages on Rossio square in central Lisbon on October 17
Banners held up by protesters demanded higher wages and pensions and focussed on the rising cost of housing and fuel
Demonstrators are seen chanting as they protest in Lisbon, Portugal
France’s Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu (L) and France’s President Emmanuel Macron attend an Interministerial Crisis Meeting at the Elysee Presidential Palace, in Paris
Hundreds of people were arrested during and after violent protests in France that saw clashes, arson and looting. The aftermath of the blaze is seen here
Demonstrators react to tear gas, the day after a national day of demonstrations and amid renewed looting on Sunday
People try to destroy the window of a Snipes store near Chatelet-Les Halles as clashes erupt at Place de la Republique following an unauthorised demonstration on Sunday
A man tries to extinguish a fire during clashes between protesters and police in Paris on Sunday
A demonstrator stands as flames rise behind them, during civil unrest, the day after a national day of demonstrations
Portugal was also swayed by the unrest, with demonstrators protesting against housing shortages, increasing rents and low wages over the weekend on Rossio Square in central Lisbon.
Banners held up by protesters demanded higher wages and pensions and focused on the rising cost of housing and fuel.
In a live TV address on Sunday night, Mr Macron said: ‘Looking at these images, we have all asked ourselves how French people could do this to France.
‘Nothing justifies it, nothing explains it, nothing excuses it.
‘Those who looted will have to pay back for the damage, and those who sought to bring down the Republic will be held accountable.’
One of the most dramatic images was that of the historic clock tower of 140-year-old Limoges town hall crumbling in an inferno. On Sunday, the town’s mayor Guillaume Guerin took aim at extremists for ‘whipping the kids into a frenzy’.
He said: ‘Those who organise everything, who bring the battering rams, who smash the windows and identify the basement entrances in this town hall so they can get in – they are not the kids.
‘They are people who are organised to wage war.’ He added: ‘The logistics, the organisation, the premeditation behind yesterday’s attack on the town hall is something I find unbearable.’
Another defining image came from Paris where a female protester tried to stop thugs looting a grocery store. Blocking them from entering through a smashed door, she pleaded: ‘Why are you doing this? Stop! This isn’t the cause!’ But the masked rioters smashed past her.
Stores selling trainers or smartphones were a particular target for the looters, many of whom travelled around on rental e-bikes.
‘It was apocalyptic,’ a police commander told Le Parisien newspaper. ‘Law enforcement was unable to contain the multitude of simultaneous attacks across the country.’
After Mr Macron’s speech, rioters and looters returned to the streets of Paris, setting up barricades and engaging in running battles with police. ‘We are here because we want Macron to resign,’ one demonstrator said.
