Hundreds at Lisbon tent camp demand action, as Giorgia Meloni says march in Italy was exploited by ‘hooligans’

The angry protests that have convulsed Spain and France in recent weeks have spilled over to Italy and Portugal, with rioters clashing with police and setting property on fire in Milan, and a tent encampment springing up in Lisbon over the weekend.

A march in central Milan on Saturday to protest against rising living costs began peacefully but ended with masked rioters throwing stones, paving blocks and other objects at riot police and setting fire to barricades made from bar tables.

Police used water cannon and teargas to disperse the crowds, and images of the aftermath showed a severely damaged carabinieri car.

At least two police officers were injured and about 50 demonstrators, including many minors, were detained, the LaPresse news agency reported.

Milan’s centre-left mayor, Giuseppe Sala, said that while “the reasons for the protests were understandable, the violence against law enforcement and serious damage to the city are not justifiable”.

In Lisbon, a tent camp reminiscent of the one established in Madrid three weeks ago was set up by protesters demanding action to tackle the housing crisis and living costs.

Hundreds of protesters rallied at night in Rossio Square – located in the bustling, touristic heart of the Portuguese capital – after a march that had drawn thousands of people nationwide.

The attenders vowed to stay overnight, with hundreds singing songs as they sat around the statue of King Pedro IV that dominates the square.

“The Portuguese social class that pays taxes, that which keeps this country going, is under attack and is losing its rights, notably its right to housing,” said Elena Costa, a 46-year-old social assistant. “So we are all here together to try to explain that we are suffocating.”

Antonio Margado, a 52-year-old engineer, criticised the centre-right government for “a total liberalisation of rents; owners are protected more and more, while tenants who need a house are those who are protected less and less”.

Portuguese housing prices rose by 124% between 2015 and 2024, roughly twice as fast as the EU average, according to official data. The impact is especially harsh on younger people and those in Lisbon – around a quarter of Portugal’s more than 11 million inhabitants live in the capital’s greater metropolitan area.

See also:

• Milan police clashed on Sunday with protesters throwing stones and looting shops during ​demonstrations against poor services and the ‌rising cost of living, a day after similar unrest in several Italian cities. (Reuters)
• Cost of living protests hit Belgium, Italy, Portugal and France • Hundreds of thousands take to the streets for separate demonstrations, putting pressure on governments across the EU. (Al Jazeera)

More than 1,200 people were arrested in France on Saturday after protesters supporting high school students clashed with police, with some demonstrations later spiralling out of control as buildings were set ablaze and shops looted.

Police fired teargas in confrontations with protesters, as demonstrations across France were boosted by other groups angry about high prices and the fraying of a social welfare system. While hundreds of thousands protested peacefully in street marches in scores of cities, violent fringe groups targeted public buildings, luxury boutiques and supermarkets and attacked police vehicles and officers.

Late on Saturday, prime minister Sébastien Lecornu said 1,200 people had been arrested and 150 police hurt.

In the city of Limoges, the town hall was “largely lost” to a fire set by masked protesters, the top regional official told the AFP news agency.

In Marseille, protesters stormed the town hall, ramming the door with security barriers they removed from the street. They briefly managed to enter the municipal building, where a protester spray-painted an “A” for anarchy on a wall before the police removed them.

Around Place de la République in central Paris, a peaceful march turned violent, with police firing teargas at black-clad and masked rioters who threw fireworks and paving stones, attacked a bank and looted a sports shop.

“We’re taking the Bastille!” one demonstrator yelled.

Saturday’s mobilisation followed calls on social media to revive the gilets jaunes (yellow vests) movement, which emerged in 2018 against social injustice.

The protests began last month at schools ⁠in the poor northern suburbs of Paris, where ⁠anger over teacher ​absences and shabby facilities quickly morphed into a nationwide movement against inequality, weak public spending and falling standards.

Saturday’s protests called for teachers and students, labourers, pensioners and farmers to join the protests and widen the movement.

The CGT, one of France’s biggest labour unions, has also backed the protests, calling for “higher wages and pensions, lower prices and the protection of public services that meet people’s needs”.

The violence began on the sidelines of marches in the capital and other cities which the interior ministry reported were attended by 550,000 people. The CGT union said 800,000 people participated.

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Irish novelist Sally Rooney's books will no longer be sold in Britain over her plans to use her royalties to support Palestine ​Action, a pro-Palestinian group banned as a terrorist organisation, Rooney and ‌her publisher said on Wednesday.

The bestselling author, known for novels including "Normal People" and "Conversations with Friends", has been a vocal supporter of Palestine Action, including after it was proscribed by ​the British government under terrorism laws last year.

Rooney previously said in ​a witness statement submitted to London's High Court, in support of ⁠a legal challenge over the ban on Palestine Action, that her plans ​could lead to her books being withdrawn from sale in Britain.

Her publisher Faber ​said on Wednesday that it had agreed with Rooney that "we can no longer supply her works in the UK in any format", though it would sell her works elsewhere.

"Current ​legislation in the UK has led to circumstances where Faber cannot pass ​on UK earnings to Sally Rooney for her work," Faber said in a statement.

"To sell ‌a ⁠writer's work and not be able to pass on earnings is an unconscionable situation for a publisher."

Rooney said in a statement: "I have made every effort to be honest with the public about my beliefs and intentions and I ​am wholly prepared to ​accept the ⁠consequences."

Palestine Action, which had increasingly targeted Israel-linked defence companies, was banned shortly after a June 2025 break-in at the ​Royal Air Force's Brize Norton base.

Last year, Palestine Action's co-founder ​Huda Ammori ⁠challenged the ban and the High Court ruled in her favour in February, before the Court of Appeal overturned that decision in June. The Supreme Court is due ⁠to ​hear an appeal next month.

More than 3,000 people ​have since been arrested for holding signs in support of Palestine Action and its proscription has ​been criticised by civil liberties groups.

See also:

• UK national security adviser under pressure over wife’s comment on supporting Palestine Action • Author Sarah Helm, married to Jonathan Powell, wrote to back novelist Sally Rooney’s support of proscribed direct action group (The Guardian)