Soldiers guard center of Milan as thousands of protesters march across European cities

MILAN (AP) — Thousands of young people marched Saturday through the streets of Milan, where large numbers of soldiers were deployed and luxury boutiques were boarded up in case of a repeat of last weekend's chaotic looting and clashes.

Premier Giorgia Meloni announced a raft of measures, including sending an additional 500 soldiers to Milan and tougher penalties for minors, who police said made up a large part of the violent protesters last week.

While protests in France have claimed most international attention, large demonstrations also rocked many European cities Saturday from Milan to Madrid, Lisbon and Tirana.

The protests encompass a broad range of issues from education and corruption to anti-war movements, pensions and housing.

In Milan, huge crowds of mostly young people gathered as night fell, chanting insults to Meloni and holding aloft banners such as “No to lies of the state.”

A group of protesters dumped manure outside Italy’s energy regulator and burned a symbolic, oversized electricity bill, images broadcast on local television showed.

The 500 soldiers deployed to Milan came in addition to hundreds already stationed there, supporting about 5,000 police and other security personnel. Authorities used drone surveillance, checks at railway stations, rapid-response units and online monitoring for potential calls to violence. Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala has said he is concerned about a repeat of violence and expressed support for the deployment of more soldiers.

Many stores, particularly luxury boutiques within Milan's fashion district including Omega, Tiffany and Gucci, boarded up their front windows.

Rioters last weekend smashed their way into stores, targeting sneakers, athletic wear and sporting goods on streets that run off the city’s central Duomo square.

Security measures extended beyond the city center over concerns protesters could move into other neighborhoods.

Demonstrations also took place in Rome, Turin and other cities, with some turning violent.

Officials said Saturday they were investigating a 30-year-old freelance journalist said to be the “mastermind” of the newly formed October 17 movement, which has been the main driver of the recent protests in Italy.

Milan police say last week's violence and looting involved about 2,000 very young protesters, many of them “naturalized, second-generation Italians,” alongside foreign nationals. Over two days, police arrested 45 people, including 34 minors.

“Many young people increasingly lack a sense of belonging and prospects for the future. Part of our society feels excluded, amid social and economic inequalities,” Milan’s welfare councilor, Lamberto Bertolé, told The Associated Press.

Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said the soldiers deployed Saturday were only recently allowed to use plastic restraint ties and only in areas around train stations, not throughout the city. They are not authorized to carry pepper spray or tasers, he said.

Security was also heightened in Rome, where authorities locked down luxury shopping streets and stepped up controls around the Circus Maximus and Piazza del Popolo.

A small number of protesters tried to force their way into the Colosseum, but were ushered out by guards. Elsewhere, several hundred students demonstrated peacefully to stress they were not rioters.

“I think the images from last week were truly something terrible, especially for the young people, for the students, for the vast majority of the younger generations who want to study ... and do not accept being represented by those who use issues and needs to devastate entire cities,” said Riccardo Ponzio, national president of an Italian far-right student association.

A separate anti-war march took off in central Rome. Organizers sought to distance themselves from potential unrest, urging participants to keep their faces uncovered and hands visible.

In Albania's capital Tirana, riot police used water cannons on large groups of protesters, some of whom set government buildings on fire and threw projectiles at police. Authorities said 2,500 officers patrolled the streets Saturday.

For over a week, protesters have hurled rocks, flares, firebombs and fireworks at police who have used batons and tear gas in clashes in the city center.

High school and university students are demanding lower tuition fees, greater state investment in education and protesting corruption in the education system. Some have joined a broader anti-government movement calling for the resignation of Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama.

A separate protest organized by the opposition outside the prime minister's office turned violent earlier, with some activists lighting fires on the street.

Rama said Saturday his government was preparing a response to the students' demands and called them to a dialogue. He warned that violent protesters will face penalties.

Thousands of retirees and others marched in Spain's capital Saturday to demand public pensions aren’t meddled with.

Large crowds marched peacefully down streets in central Madrid, waving colorful flags and banners reading “protect pensions” and “decent pensions for today and the future."

“They are threatening us with privatizing pensions. It’s just another thing they want to profit from," said Maria José Benito, 68.

The protests came ahead of next month’s snap election as Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s Socialist Party criticized the conservative opposition Popular Party for making overtures about privatizing public pensions. Spain also has been roiled by protests this fall around the issue of housing, as rental and home costs have risen in recent years beyond what many Spaniards can afford.

Taking their cue from Spaniards, protesters in Lisbon demanding affordable housing marched across the city on Saturday.

They have also targeted recent measures announced by the government of Prime Minister Luis Montenegro that include easing the cap on yearly rent increases and facilitating the eviction of tenants who fail to pay rent.

Montenegro defends the measures saying that it aims at reinforcing trust between tenants and landlords and boosting the rentals market. Protesters claim that the measures are not balanced and put tenants in a more vulnerable position.

Nellas reported from Athens, and Hui reported from London. Associated Press writers Suman Naishadham in Madrid, Giada Zampano in Rome, and videojournalists Niccolò Lupone in Milan, Veronica Sauchelli in Rome, Alicia León in Madrid and Helena Alves in Lisbon contributed to this report.

Anti-riot police watch as demonstrators march through the streets of Milan, Italy, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, to protest against the rising cost of living and deteriorating public services, during one of several demonstrations organized across Italy by groups spanning the political spectrum. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Anti-riot police watch people marching through the streets of Milan, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, to protest against the rising cost of living and deteriorating public services during one of several protests in Italy organized by groups across the political spectrum. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Protesters gather during an anti-government rally, in Tirana, Albania, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Hameraldi Agolli)

Riot police advance during an anti-government rally in Tirana, Albania, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Hameraldi Agolli)

Italian army paratroopers patrol the area around Milan's Duomo Cathedral, Italy, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, ahead of expected protests against the rising cost of living and deteriorating public services during one of several protests in Italy organized by groups across the political spectrum. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Protesters gather outside the Prime Minister's office during an anti-government rally, in Tirana, Albania, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Hameraldi Agolli)

Shop windows are boarded up in Milan, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, ahead of a protest against the rising cost of living and deteriorating public services, one of several demonstrations organized across Italy by groups spanning the political spectrum. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Members of right-wing student groups march through the streets of Rome, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, during a demonstration called "Unlock Everything," organized in opposition to recent left-wing student protests and one of several demonstrations held by groups across the political spectrum. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Members of right-wing student groups march through the streets of Rome during a demonstration called "Unlock Everything," organized in opposition to recent left-wing student protests and one of several demonstrations held by groups across the political spectrum, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Members of right-wing student groups march through the streets of Rome during a demonstration called "Unlock Everything," organized in opposition to recent left-wing student protests and one of several demonstrations held by groups across the political spectrum, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Members of right-wing student groups march through the streets of Rome, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, during a demonstration called "Unlock Everything," organized in opposition to recent left-wing student protests and one of several demonstrations held by groups across the political spectrum. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Members of right-wing student groups march through the streets of Rome, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, during a demonstration called "Unlock Everything," organized in opposition to recent left-wing student protests and one of several demonstrations held by groups across the political spectrum. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) — Newly minted all-around champion Skye Blakely added to her medal haul at the world gymnastics championships, earning bronze on vault and uneven bars during the event finals on Saturday.

The 21-year-old from Dallas, who soared to gold in the all-around on Friday after recovering from injuries that wrecked her Olympic hopes in 2021 and again in 2024, hardly looked tired in what has quickly become the meet of her life.

Blakely averaged a score of 14.166 on her pair of vaults to share the podium with gold medalist Rebeca Andrade of Brazil and American teammate Claire Pease.

Andrade, the Olympic champion on vault and the Olympic silver medalist in the all-around in Paris behind Simone Biles, edged Pease for gold. The 27-year-old Andrade, who is competing as an event specialist at the moment while eyeing a run at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, averaged 14.666, a bit ahead of Pease at 14.233.

Kaylia Nemour of Algeria recovered from a misstep on vault in the all-around finals on Friday that cost her a medal to easily defend her gold on uneven bars. Nemour's intricate and technically demanding routine — perhaps the hardest currently being done by any gymnast, male or female, in any event — earned her a 15.333, the highest score of the day.

Helen Kervic of Germany captured the silver at 14.833, with Blakely in third at 14.600.

Blakely, who joined Olympic champions Biles and Nastia Liukin as well as Rebecca Bross as the only American women to win at least four medals at a single worlds, will have a chance to add to her medal total on Sunday when she competes in the beam final.

American Fred Richard helped the U.S. men's team earn a bit of redemption after a shaky sixth-place finish in the team final by edging Jake Jarman of Britain for gold in the floor exercise. The 22-year-old Richard, who has spent the last several years trying to raise the profile of the men's side of the sport through social media, posted a 14.633 to give the Americans their third individual gold at worlds in the last two years.

Richard said after competing in the NCAA championships for Michigan last spring that he would have a gold medal of some variety around his neck at worlds. A performance that showcased his maturity made it come true.

“It’s OK to manifest,” Richard said. “It’s OK to talk big and believe in yourself. Put in the work every day. As long as that is true, that you’re actually putting in the work, it can happen, and it does happen.”

Jarman, who came in as the defending champion on the event, put together a more difficult routine but was nicked by judges for his execution. His 14.600 wasn't quite enough to knock Richard off the top of the podium.

Carlos Yulo, the reigning Olympic champion on floor, sat during his second tumbling pass and finished eighth in the eight-man final. Arsenii Dukhno of Russia, who topped qualifying, went out of bounds after overcooking a tumbling sequence and wound up sixth.

In other events Saturday, Hamlet Manukyan of Armenia edged Gabriele Targhetta of Italy for gold in a tight pommel horse final. Manukyan's score of 15.300 was just ahead of Targhetta at 15.233. Manukyan's Armenian teammate Mamikon Khachatryan won the bronze at 15.000.

Lan Xingyu of China returned to the top of the podium in still rings. The 28-year-old's score of 14.766 was more than enough to earn him a second world gold in the event to go with the one he captured in 2021. Eleftherios Petrounias of Greece took silver for his sixth world medal in his specialty. Artur Avetisyan captured the bronze.

The world championships wrap up on Sunday with the finals in men's high bar, parallel bars and vault and women's balance beam and floor exercise.

See AP’s full sports coverage here

Skye Blakely, of the United States, reacts after competing in the uneven bars during the apparatus finals at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)

Artistic gymnastics Olympic champion Simone Biles, of the United States, acknowledges the crowd wehn attending the apparatus finals at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Frederick Richard, of the United States, poses on the podium after winning the gold medal in the floor exercise during the apparatus finals at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Claire Pease, of the United States, competes in the vault during the apparatus finals at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)

Rebeca Andrade, of Brazil, celebrates after winning the gold medal in the vault during the apparatus finals at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Skye Blakely, of the United States, competes in the vault during the apparatus finals at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Post)