Riots at demonstration in opposition to Olympics in Milan | EUROtoday

As of: February 8, 2026 1:00 p.m

Environmental air pollution, housing shortages and the US ICE company: hundreds of individuals protested in Milan in opposition to the Olympic Games in Italy for a number of causes. Now there have been riots.

Riots broke out in Milan throughout an illustration on the sidelines of the Winter Olympics. After a protest march in the direction of the Olympic Village, some contributors threw smoke bombs and Molotov cocktails in the direction of safety forces. The police used batons, water cannons and tear fuel. There had been six arrests.

Thousands of demonstrators marched by means of Milan on the primary full day of competitors to take a stand on quite a lot of causes. A rally organized by unions and environmentalists was directed in opposition to, amongst different issues, skyrocketing rents and rising social inequality. Milan has been experiencing an actual property growth because the 2015 World’s Fair, which has pushed up the price of residing for a lot of locals.

Environmental air pollution attributable to the Winter Games was additionally the main target of the protests. Opponents of the Olympics primarily criticize the affect of the foremost occasion on the ecosystem and the water- and energy-intensive use of synthetic snow.

protest in opposition to US Immigration Service ICE

In addition to the excessive prices of the Winter Games, the housing scarcity and the environmental affect, individuals additionally demonstrated in opposition to the US company ICE. Posters like “ICE out” or “ICE=SS” might be seen. ICE has been criticized for its actions within the United States, during which two individuals had been not too long ago killed.

In the US delegation In Italy, ICE officers are imagined to handle the safety of officers comparable to US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. According to the Italian authorities, they shouldn’t be used on the streets.

There is varied details about the variety of protesters. The AP information company reported, citing police, that 10,000 individuals took half in a bigger, peaceable demonstration. Other information companies mentioned 3,000 and 5,000 contributors took to the streets.

Melons: demonstrators “Enemies of Italy”

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni sharply criticized these concerned within the protests. On social media, she described them as “enemies of Italy and Italians.” They ensured that the photographs of the riots had been proven “on television in half the world,” the right-wing head of presidency wrote and revealed a report on the US broadcaster Fox.

“Thousands and thousands of Italians are working these hours to ensure that everything works during the Olympic Games,” mentioned Meloni. Many of them are volunteers as a result of they need their nation to make a superb impression, be admired and revered. Opposite them are the individuals she describes as enemies who’re demonstrating “against the Olympic Games.”