{"id":"publication:1920001","publicationId":1920001,"storyId":2190001,"slug":"france-and-italy-put-soldiers-on-streets-before-protests","canonicalUrl":"https://www.thelastdaily.com/article/france-and-italy-put-soldiers-on-streets-before-protests","machineReadableUrl":"https://www.thelastdaily.com/api/public/articles/france-and-italy-put-soldiers-on-streets-before-protests.json","headline":"France and Italy Put Soldiers on Streets Before Protests","dek":"Paris is using local curfews and static Sentinelle deployments; Rome has armed Milan with new criminal penalties, targeted exclusion orders and 500 additional troops.","bodyMarkdown":"Paris and Milan are preparing for Saturday, 24 October, with soldiers assigned to visible security duties after cost-of-living protests turned into looting and clashes last weekend. France is bringing Opération Sentinelle troops into a security operation around the capital, while Italy has approved a decree that adds offences, expands police powers and sends 500 additional soldiers to Milan through the end of the year. The measures follow parallel political crises: governments confronting public anger over prices, rents, energy and wages while insisting that violent groups cannot set the terms of the next protest day.\n\nIn France, the 17 October mobilisation joined a lycée movement, trade unions and yellow-vest networks. The CGT claimed 800,000 marchers; authorities put the total at 550,000. By 19 October, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said 2,513 people had been held in police custody and 67 jailed, according to his TF1 appearance and reporting by 20 Minutes.\n\nThe violence left a harder symbol in Limoges, where the 1883 town hall was set alight and its roof and belfry collapsed. RAID officers arrested a 34-year-old man on 20 October in Val-d’Issoire, Haute-Vienne, RTL reported. He is suspected in the fire and reportedly listed as an ultra-left activist; he has not been convicted.\n\n## France frees police for protest duty Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told the National Assembly on 20 October that Sentinelle personnel would take over static protection of sensitive sites, releasing police and gendarmes for public-order duties. Euronews reported that the wider operation would include the BRI, GIGN, RAID, helicopters, Centaure armoured vehicles and water cannon. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has described the planned deployment as “massif”, after conceding that the 17 October security posture had been too static and insufficiently mobile. A military source cited by the Journal du Dimanche said troops would have no crowd-control role at this stage. France has also begun using geographically narrow curfews. Paris has imposed an 11pm-to-6am restriction around Place de la République and Les Halles, along with bans on undeclared gatherings in parts of the centre. Lyon has a 9pm-to-6am curfew in its hypercentre; Nice, Marseille and several northern cities have imposed restrictions focused on minors. Lecornu has asked prefects for localised curfews rather than a nationwide state of emergency.\n\n> “Ceux qui ont détruit doivent payer,” President Emmanuel Macron said in his television address on 18 October, blaming ultra-left “factieux” and delinquent groups. Nuñez offered his resignation on France Inter on 19 October after admitting a “perte de contrôle” in some cities. The Élysée refused it, according to L’Express, preserving the interior minister’s command during the security operation.\n\nThe response has allies beyond Macron’s camp. Paris Centre mayor Ariel Weil, a Socialist, told BFMTV on 19 October that he wanted a curfew and, “pourquoi pas”, the army. On the right, Marine Le Pen said legitimate social demands had been taken hostage by the far left, while Jordan Bardella called for order to be restored by every legal means.\n\nUnion and left-wing leaders draw a different line. CGT general secretary Sophie Binet condemned the violence on 18 October while calling it the outcome of a decade of Macronism. Olivier Faure, leader of the Socialist Party, said on 17 October that de-escalation rather than confrontation should be pursued.\n\nThe European Commission’s Markus Lammert said on 19 October that looting was unacceptable while urging France to safeguard peaceful protest.\n\n## Italy legislates before the next Saturday Italy’s approach centres on a decree approved by Giorgia Meloni’s cabinet at Palazzo Chigi on 20 October. The government’s official communiqué creates the offence of organised violence at public demonstrations, covering groups of five or more who throw objects or dangerous devices that endanger people. Il Sole 24 Ore reported penalties of up to five years in prison and fines up to €20,000, with harsher terms for masked offenders. The decree also extends delayed arrest based on video evidence to minors, presumes criminal capacity for 14- to 17-year-olds, broadens preventive police holds and permits fines of €500 to €1,000 for parents of minors who commit violence. It allows questori to bar named people, including minors aged 14 and over, from specified gathering places for up to a year. These are targeted restrictions, not a general Italian curfew. Milan already has designated “red zones” around the Duomo, stations, Navigli and Via Padova until March 2027. The new 500-strong Strade Sicure contingent will operate alongside police and carabinieri until 31 December. Il Sole 24 Ore reported that the soldiers will not receive judicial-police powers after objections from the Quirinale.\n\n> “Devastare e rubare non è protesta, è criminalità,” Meloni said in a video published on 20 October. Her government is reacting to a weekend in which 271 people were detained in Milan, including 32 arrested, according to the Guardian; 28 were arrested in Turin.","bodyHtml":"

Paris and Milan are preparing for Saturday, 24 October, with soldiers assigned to visible security duties after cost-of-living protests turned into looting and clashes last weekend. France is bringing Opération Sentinelle troops into a security operation around the capital, while Italy has approved a decree that adds offences, expands police powers and sends 500 additional soldiers to Milan through the end of the year. The measures follow parallel political crises: governments confronting public anger over prices, rents, energy and wages while insisting that violent groups cannot set the terms of the next protest day.

\n

In France, the 17 October mobilisation joined a lycée movement, trade unions and yellow-vest networks. The CGT claimed 800,000 marchers; authorities put the total at 550,000. By 19 October, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said 2,513 people had been held in police custody and 67 jailed, according to his TF1 appearance and reporting by 20 Minutes.

\n

The violence left a harder symbol in Limoges, where the 1883 town hall was set alight and its roof and belfry collapsed. RAID officers arrested a 34-year-old man on 20 October in Val-d’Issoire, Haute-Vienne, RTL reported. He is suspected in the fire and reportedly listed as an ultra-left activist; he has not been convicted.

\n

France frees police for protest duty Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told the National Assembly on 20 October that Sentinelle personnel would take over static protection of sensitive sites, releasing police and gendarmes for public-order duties. Euronews reported that the wider operation would include the BRI, GIGN, RAID, helicopters, Centaure armoured vehicles and water cannon. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has described the planned deployment as “massif”, after conceding that the 17 October security posture had been too static and insufficiently mobile. A military source cited by the Journal du Dimanche said troops would have no crowd-control role at this stage. France has also begun using geographically narrow curfews. Paris has imposed an 11pm-to-6am restriction around Place de la République and Les Halles, along with bans on undeclared gatherings in parts of the centre. Lyon has a 9pm-to-6am curfew in its hypercentre; Nice, Marseille and several northern cities have imposed restrictions focused on minors. Lecornu has asked prefects for localised curfews rather than a nationwide state of emergency.

\n
“Ceux qui ont détruit doivent payer,” President Emmanuel Macron said in his television address on 18 October, blaming ultra-left “factieux” and delinquent groups. Nuñez offered his resignation on France Inter on 19 October after admitting a “perte de contrôle” in some cities. The Élysée refused it, according to L’Express, preserving the interior minister’s command during the security operation.
\n

The response has allies beyond Macron’s camp. Paris Centre mayor Ariel Weil, a Socialist, told BFMTV on 19 October that he wanted a curfew and, “pourquoi pas”, the army. On the right, Marine Le Pen said legitimate social demands had been taken hostage by the far left, while Jordan Bardella called for order to be restored by every legal means.

\n

Union and left-wing leaders draw a different line. CGT general secretary Sophie Binet condemned the violence on 18 October while calling it the outcome of a decade of Macronism. Olivier Faure, leader of the Socialist Party, said on 17 October that de-escalation rather than confrontation should be pursued.

\n

The European Commission’s Markus Lammert said on 19 October that looting was unacceptable while urging France to safeguard peaceful protest.

\n

Italy legislates before the next Saturday Italy’s approach centres on a decree approved by Giorgia Meloni’s cabinet at Palazzo Chigi on 20 October. The government’s official communiqué creates the offence of organised violence at public demonstrations, covering groups of five or more who throw objects or dangerous devices that endanger people. Il Sole 24 Ore reported penalties of up to five years in prison and fines up to €20,000, with harsher terms for masked offenders. The decree also extends delayed arrest based on video evidence to minors, presumes criminal capacity for 14- to 17-year-olds, broadens preventive police holds and permits fines of €500 to €1,000 for parents of minors who commit violence. It allows questori to bar named people, including minors aged 14 and over, from specified gathering places for up to a year. These are targeted restrictions, not a general Italian curfew. Milan already has designated “red zones” around the Duomo, stations, Navigli and Via Padova until March 2027. The new 500-strong Strade Sicure contingent will operate alongside police and carabinieri until 31 December. Il Sole 24 Ore reported that the soldiers will not receive judicial-police powers after objections from the Quirinale.

\n
“Devastare e rubare non è protesta, è criminalità,” Meloni said in a video published on 20 October. Her government is reacting to a weekend in which 271 people were detained in Milan, including 32 arrested, according to the Guardian; 28 were arrested in Turin.
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