Behind Italy’s Protests: Rising Prices and Sinking Hopes NYT - Top Stories By: Motoko Rich and Josephine de La Bruyère 28 October 2026 at 13:16 Inspired in part by French demonstrations, protests in Italy by students in the north and truckers in the south could affect national elections next year. © Piero Cruciatti/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesDemonstrators clashed with police in Milan this month.