ROME — Thousands of protesters clashed with police across three major Italian cities on Saturday, escalating pressure on Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government over military aid to Ukraine and soaring inflation that has strained household budgets.
Riot police deployed water cannons in Rome as demonstrators pushed toward government buildings. Seven people were arrested across Rome, Turin, and Bologna; three officers sustained minor injuries. Protesters set flares and threw smoke bombs, demanding an end to Italy's military support for foreign conflicts—a direct rebuke to Meloni's firm alignment with NATO and the European Union.
Inflation hit 8.7 percent year-over-year in August, according to Italy's National Institute of Statistics. Union leaders and student groups, who organized much of the coordinated action, argue the government has abandoned working families to energy price shocks and rising rents. They are demanding price caps and increased social spending.
Meloni, who took office last year with a mandate to restore fiscal discipline and strengthen European security ties, now faces a two-front political crisis. Opposition parties—the Democratic Party and the Five Star Movement—are seizing on the discontent. Internal government calculations show regional elections next year could punish her coalition if economic relief does not materialize.
The standoff will come to a head in November when Meloni's administration presents its annual budget to Parliament. That proposal will signal whether she intends to ease energy and food prices or hold the line on austerity. More demonstrations are planned for late November, signaling the protests will intensify if the budget offers minimal relief.
