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Europe after the weekend: Riots in France, chaos in Milan, Albanian protests
France is tallying Saturday’s riots, with 2,397 arrests, nearly 1,000 injured officers and one protester dead. Young people looted stores in Milan for a second day, and protests against Edi Rama’s government in Albania have now lasted a week.
Street violence marked the weekend in Europe. In France, protests over rising prices turned into rioting across the country on Saturday; in Italy, Milan saw clashes two days running; and in Albania, opponents of the government have been on the streets for a week.
Here are the key developments in the three countries, with eyewitness videos.
France: Thousands arrested, one dead
France’s Interior Ministry reported 2,397 arrests and 997 injured police officers and gendarmes; about 550,000 people took to the streets on Saturday. In Paris, police carried an unconscious protester away from the scene.
According to BFMTV, citing Paris police, a protester died north of the capital after cardiorespiratory arrest. Amid the smoke and fire, a person in an inflatable costume walked down the street.
Security forces also came under attack: French TV footage shows a crowd assaulting a police car and officers having to pull back. In Limoges, fire destroyed the spire of the 143-year-old town hall; in Lyon, the tourist office burned; in Marseille, rioters broke into city hall.
Things calmed on Sunday, but tear gas was used again at Place de la République, and at night a group tried to break into a bar.
Shopkeepers suffered too. In Nice, a looter kicked a merchant in the back as he tried to protect his shop.
Elsewhere, rioters hauled a motorcycle out of a store.
Another video shows people carrying away a Real Madrid shirt reportedly signed by Zinedine Zidane.
Security camera footage of people climbing over a fence into a yard at night was shared as evidence of looting in wealthy areas, but where it was filmed could not be established.
In an address to the nation, President Emmanuel Macron promised that rioters would pay for the damage and linked rising fuel prices to the war in the Persian Gulf. The Élysée rejected the resignation of Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez.
Italy: Milan under siege for a second day
On Sunday, hundreds of teenagers and young people gathered again in central Milan near Piazza del Duomo. Police responded with water cannon and tear gas.
According to ANSA, 160 people had been taken to police headquarters by the evening, 80% of them minors; over the two days the number detained passed 200.
Rioters smashed shops on Via Torino and around Cordusio and Castello, and attacked a police car.
One shop owner grabbed a stick and chased the looters away.
By Monday, 14 officers had been injured, and 32 of those detained had been formally arrested. Saturday’s damage is estimated at at least 1 million euros. Giorgia Meloni called a public order meeting; Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala said there were too few police on the streets.
Albania: Seventh day of confrontation
In Albania, protests over corruption, problems in education and unemployment have continued since Oct. 13. Police in Tirana again used water cannon to disperse the crowd.
The Health Ministry reports 272 injured, including 169 police officers; proceedings have been opened against 388 people. On Oct. 17, a fire from a neighboring building spread to the offices of the Supreme Court.
On Sunday night, protesters threw Molotov cocktails at a police officer and a police station. Prime Minister Edi Rama refuses to resign.
What comes next
In France, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is convening a crisis unit while Macron flies to the Gulf states. In Italy, decisions from Meloni’s meeting are awaited, and in Albania the opposition and students have vowed to keep protesting.
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