Italy

Rome, October 18, 2026. The Italian press is covering Emmanuel Macron's address to the nation from the angle of public order, following a Saturday, October 17, of protests against the "carovita" (high cost of living) that degenerated in several French cities.

Libero Quotidiano extensively reports the speech. "Nothing justifies or explains what happened," the president said, evoking "anger and shame" and "unheard-of violence against law enforcement." He called for "exemplary" justice: "Those who destroyed must pay and compensate." He admitted that it was necessary to listen to "legitimate anger," while promising to be "intransigent with the violent," with bans on gatherings where necessary. The newspaper reiterates its question about the fire at the Limoges town hall: "How can they go so far?" Macron also promised "maximum transparency" and a review of intelligence work, and assured affected merchants and artisans of his proximity.

Figures are circulating from one dispatch to another. ANSA reports a "record" number of 855 arrests in Paris, more than 1,200 nationwide according to the authorities, and specifies that the processions, organized against the rise in the cost of living and to denounce the shortcomings of the school system, brought together hundreds of thousands of people, with fires and looting of stores. Libero, via askanews, then quotes Interior Minister Laurent Nunez: "1,800" people arrested "so far," and more than 500 injured among law enforcement and security forces. The deputy mayor of Paris, Lamia El Aaraje, speaks of "a level of violence that I believe we had never seen before."

La Repubblica, under the pen of its correspondent Anais Ginori, gives a more political reading of the street: more than 500,000 people took to the streets with students, but "the black blocs are taking center stage." The title cites the condemnation from the left, which treats the rioters as "useful idiots of the right," and reports more than a thousand arrests, 150 injured police officers, and the death of a young man.

Overall, the Italian coverage puts the images of devastation and the Élysée's authoritative response at the forefront. Social demands are mentioned but little developed, and the reactions of the French opposition to the lack of social announcements do not appear in these articles.