It all began in France, and in schools. The mobilisation started in mid-September at the Lycée Saint-Exupéry in Créteil, a town on the outskirts of Paris, where students were denouncing a shortage of teachers and staff. From there the movement spread quickly: more than 500 secondary schools involved in blockades and occupations across the country, with the protest amplified through TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram.

In Italy the "contagion" arrived later, at the beginning of October. On 5 October, the Liceo Regina Margherita and the Istituto Carlo Ignazio Giulio in Turin were occupied. They were swiftly followed by the Sella Aalto Lagrange, and then by the Gobetti, where self-management began. The movement then spread to many cities, including Rome, Naples and Genoa, with assemblies, picket lines and lesson disruptions, culminating in the national student strike on 16 October.

Then, over the weekend of 17 and 18 October, the street demonstrations took on a different character. After a peaceful march, there were clashes and looting, especially in the centre of Milan. 271 people were detained and taken to police headquarters following the assaults in the city centre streets, and the majority of them — 220 — were minors. Of the young people identified by the police, 80 per cent were under age: the youngest was 11, and many were between 12 and 13 years old. Of these, sixty were foreign nationals.

The psychology behind protests

Understanding the anger of a generation is an extremely complex undertaking. Our attempt at analysis begins with an interview with Michele Mezzanotte, psychologist, psychotherapist and social media communicator. The starting point is unambiguous: today, the generation of the very young (under 25) is suffering more than any other. Two figures for context. First: unemployment in that age group stands at 20 per cent (compared to 3.6 per cent among those aged 50 to 64). Second: schools and universities are extremely neglected; consider that Italy is (along with Ireland and Greece) the European country that invests the least in education — just 4 per cent of its GDP.

And yet it is precisely this generation driving the mobilisation. Students and young people. "The new generations," observes Mezzanotte, "display a complexity, a sensitivity and above all an attentiveness to the social — not just the individual — that has rarely been seen before." From his interactions with young people, including in schools, he sees what he calls a therapeutic shift at the collective level: the move from I to we. "Because pain is healed the moment it is shared and received by a network of relationships," he tells us. "To protest is, in fact, to bear witness — to bring outward what one holds within. Suppressing protest is equivalent to suppressing an emotion, with the risk of inner explosions. The great turning points in history are born from protests — that is, from moments when a suffering surfaces that must be worked through. To ignore it means allowing it to assume, sooner or later, monstrous forms."

When protest turns violent

"The collective feeling — explains Mezzanotte, drawing on Carl Gustav Jung's collective unconscious — is shared by everyone; what differs is the way each person expresses it. If ten people feel the same anger, many will channel it into words, drawings, writing; one may explode into violence. But that single episode does not invalidate the emotion underlying it, which is shared by all the others. What it calls for, rather, is a different question: how do we adjust our approach?"

For Mezzanotte, the key lies in a clear boundary: as long as an outburst remains respectful and humane, it should be received; when it ceases to be so and becomes inhumane, it is time to intervene. "But as for how to intervene," he adds, "punishment is now considered dysfunctional from a pedagogical and psychological standpoint, whereas accountability works. And it shouldn't be down to a single individual: what's needed is a network of professionals." After all, as he points out, in psychology treating the symptom without looking at what lies behind it resolves nothing — much like sedating a panic attack without addressing its causes.

Equally fascinating is understanding how those who witness that violence respond. How do those tasked with maintaining security react when faced with an aggressive form of protest? A profound question. "It is precisely for this reason," Mezzanotte reminds us, "that the work of law enforcement is the most complex of all. Precisely because those who carry it out would need, more than most, awareness and psychological support in order to remain clear-headed: to understand who they are facing, what emotion that person is carrying, how to intervene safely. Emotions are contagious: if everyone is laughing, it is more likely that I will laugh too. And if everyone is angry, it becomes harder not to get angry."

There is a new security decree

In the meantime, following the events in Milan, the Council of Ministers on 20 October 2026 approved a decree introducing a new criminal offence, extending preventive detention and strengthening measures against minors. It is a decree-law consisting of eight articles.

The principal measure concerns the creation of a new offence: "organised violence at public demonstrations", which punishes anyone who, during a protest, uses sticks or clubs or throws objects in a way that endangers people's safety. In such cases, the penalty ranges from two to five years' imprisonment and a fine of up to 20,000 euros, with a harsher sentence for those acting with their faces covered. Even more severe are the sanctions for those who organise or promote the formation of groups aimed at staging violent demonstrations, including through digital or electronic means: in such cases, the penalty ranges from 4 to 12 years' imprisonment.

On the question of minors, the measure extends preventive detention to cover those who disturb security in places with high footfall, and the measure may apply to minors as well, but only from the age of 16 upwards. Minors aged 14 and above will, however, be subject to criminal liability. The decree also provides for certain financial penalties for families: when a minor — even one not subject to criminal liability — participates in certain offences, the decree provides for administrative sanctions against those exercising parental responsibility, unless they can demonstrate they were unable to prevent the act. Finally, the last new measure is the immediate deployment of 500 military personnel to Milan until 31 December, at a cost of 4.7 million euros.