Soldiers Guard Milan as Protests Spread Across Europe, From Tirana to Madrid to Lisbon

On Saturday, soldiers fanned out across Milan and the windows of luxury boutiques were covered in boards, as thousands of protesters marched through Italy's fashion and finance capital. It came one week after looting and clashes with police in the same streets.

Premier Giorgia Meloni announced a package of measures that includes sending 500 more soldiers to Milan and tougher penalties for minors. Police say minors made up a large part of last week's violent protesters. The new troops join hundreds of soldiers already stationed in the city, supporting about 5,000 police and other security personnel. Authorities also used drone surveillance, checks at railway stations, rapid-response units and online monitoring for calls to violence. Mayor Giuseppe Sala has said he fears a repeat and supports the added soldiers.

Defense Minister Guido Crosetto set out limits on the troops. They were only recently allowed to use plastic restraint ties, and only in areas around train stations rather than citywide. They are not authorized to carry pepper spray or tasers.

In the evening, large crowds of mostly young people marched, chanting insults at Meloni and carrying banners such as "No to lies of the state." One group dumped manure outside Italy's energy regulator and burned an oversized symbolic electricity bill, according to local television images. Stores including Omega, Tiffany and Gucci in the fashion district boarded up their fronts. Last weekend's rioters broke into shops on streets off the Duomo square, going after sneakers, athletic wear and sporting goods. Security reached beyond the center because of fears protesters might move into other neighborhoods, and demonstrations were called in Rome and at least seven other cities.

Milan police say about 2,000 very young protesters took part in last week's violence and looting, many of them "naturalized, second-generation Italians," along with foreign nationals. Over two days, police arrested 45 people, 34 of them minors. Officials also said they are investigating a 30-year-old freelance journalist described as the "mastermind" of the newly formed October 17 movement, the main driver of recent protests in Italy. Milan welfare councilor Lamberto Bertolé told the AP that many young people lack a sense of belonging and prospects, and that part of society feels excluded amid social and economic inequality.

In Rome, authorities locked down luxury shopping streets and tightened controls around the Circus Maximus and Piazza del Popolo. Several hundred students demonstrated peacefully to show they were not rioters. Riccardo Ponzio, national president of a far-right student association, said last week's images were terrible for the young people who want to study and make proposals. A separate anti-war march moved through central Rome, and organizers urged participants to keep faces uncovered and hands visible.

Elsewhere the unrest was more violent. In Tirana, riot police used water cannons on large crowds, and some protesters set government buildings on fire and threw projectiles at police. Authorities put 2,500 officers on the streets. For more than a week, protesters have thrown rocks, flares, firebombs and fireworks, and police have answered with batons and tear gas. High school and university students want lower tuition, more state investment in education and an end to corruption in the system; some have joined calls for Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama to resign. An opposition protest outside his office turned violent earlier in the day. Rama said his government is preparing a response to the students' demands, invited them to dialogue, and warned violent protesters will face penalties.

In Madrid, thousands of retirees and others marched peacefully with colorful flags and banners reading "protect pensions." Maria José Benito, 68, said they are being threatened with privatization of pensions. The march comes before next month's snap election, with Pedro Sánchez's Socialists criticizing the conservative Popular Party for overtures about privatizing public pensions. Spain has also seen protests this fall over housing costs.

In Lisbon, protesters took their cue from Spain and marched for affordable housing. They also oppose measures from Prime Minister Luis Montenegro's government that ease the cap on yearly rent increases and make it easier to evict tenants who don't pay. Montenegro says the measures reinforce trust between tenants and landlords and boost the rental market; protesters say they leave tenants more vulnerable. Watch next for Rome and the other Italian cities, Albania's answer to the students, and Spain's election.