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Europe Today: France to deploy army before weekend protests as Italy tightens powers
France will put soldiers on the streets ahead of more weekend protests, after days of violence and vandalism. Italy is giving police new powers, Albania's protests enter a second week, and Greek students march today. In Oslo, Steve Witkoff meets Zelenskyy before heading to Moscow.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/10/21/europe-today-france-to-deploy-army-before-weekend-protests-as-italy-tightens-powers
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France will put soldiers on the streets ahead of more weekend protests, after days of violence and vandalism. Italy is giving police new powers, Albania's protests enter a second week, and Greek students march today. In Oslo, Steve Witkoff meets Zelenskyy before heading to Moscow.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/10/21/europe-today-france-to-deploy-army-before-weekend-protests-as-italy-tightens-powers
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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00:14Good morning, it is Wednesday the 21st of October. I'm Maeve McMahon and this is Europe Today.
00:21Your morning dose of European news and analysis live here on Euronews.
00:26Coming up, troops on the ground. The French government has said it will be sending soldiers to the streets in
00:32anticipation of yet another wave of protests scheduled for this weekend.
00:37The violent riots have overshadowed this week's European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg where political finger pointing continues.
00:44We'll take you live to Strasbourg.
00:46And Italy has approved draconian measures in response to a wave of protests that saw thousands of people down the
00:53street peacefully, though some turned violent.
00:56Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini says police will be allowed to detain teenagers for up to 12 hours, even if
01:03they have not committed a crime and their parents will be fined.
01:06And the Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani will be deploying 500 troops to Milan.
01:11Meanwhile, protests have rocked Albania's capital Tirana for the seventh day in a row, with many turning ugly.
01:18The Denham Straders call for better quality jobs and an end to corruption.
01:22They want their Prime Minister to resign.
01:25But Eni Rama, currently serving his fourth term, says he is not going anywhere, warning that the Denham Straders threaten
01:32Albania's path to EU membership.
01:34But first, to France, where curfews seem to be bringing calm back to the streets after days of violence and
01:40vandalism.
01:41Christophe Rouillon, the mayor of Coulen, told Euronews that the measures are working, but there's also a big responsibility on
01:47parents.
01:47Yes, I think it was very important to prevent the events that we have seen in France, especially in my
01:59city, with the firefox and some young people burn mattresses on the road.
02:07And there is a big version now in France.
02:12Despite this, the French government is planning on deploying the army ahead of more strikes this weekend.
02:17And the riots in France are up for debate in Strasbourg this week, with the far right and far left
02:22MEPs clashing over their contrasting framing of the riots.
02:25The right draws links to migration, and the left say the real cause is the deepening cost of living crisis.
02:31For more on these political tensions, we can go now straight to Strasbourg and speak to the Patriots for Europe,
02:37MEP, Fabrice Legeri.
02:38Good morning, Fabrice. Thank you so much for joining us here on Europe Today.
02:42So, the army will be deployed now to the streets of France and Italy. Do you support this measure?
02:50Well, good morning, and thank you very much for inviting me.
02:53First of all, I would like to stress that in the case of France, of course, there were legitimate protests.
03:01And that was because of the schooling condition, because there are difficulties also in everyday life for many French people.
03:10So, my political party, Rassemblement National, of course, wants to improve everyday life of people in France.
03:18But we want to improve the life of honest people.
03:21But what we have witnessed over the past weekend is something different, because there were many people coming from suburbs
03:31to loot shops,
03:32to destroy private property, even to destroy or to loot private houses and apartments.
03:41So, this is something completely different that requires a firm response from the government.
03:48And so far, the French government and President Emmanuel Macron have not really addressed the problem.
03:55And do we have proof, Fabrice Legeri, of who is responsible for the violence and vandalism?
04:00This talk of foreign interference, is there proof yet of this?
04:06Sorry, can you say it again? I don't understand.
04:10Do we have any proof? No problem.
04:12Do we have any proof of who is responsible for the violence and the vandalism?
04:17Is there any proof of foreign interference here?
04:22Well, there are footages and there are videos showing the profile of looters.
04:29There are, well, ongoing investigations.
04:33When we see foreign flags, you know, unfortunately, many people got used to seeing Palestinian flags, Algerian flags.
04:47So, this is, of course, the symbol of foreign, I don't know if this is foreign interference,
04:54but at least it means that some of the people gathered during these violent riots,
05:03they don't like France, they hate France, they hate the country where most of them were born.
05:11So, have integration policies failed in France?
05:17Of course, it has failed, but what has failed is also the, well, there was not a controlled migration policy.
05:28So, we need to draw the conclusions.
05:31I mean, the government needs to draw the conclusions from that failure.
05:35Of course, Rassemblement National, Marine Le Pen, Jordan Bardella, we have a proposal to French voters.
05:41We want to take back control over migration, but, unfortunately, the failures of the past have consequences now, today.
05:49And this requires, as well, a firm response from the French judiciary.
05:55We also want to improve legislation in France.
06:00We want to have minimum sanctions, criminal sanctions.
06:04So, there is a maximum in the criminal court, but there should be also a minimum.
06:08Okay, of course, Fabrice Legere.
06:09And the reality in France is we see over 25% of under-30s at risk, of course, of poverty
06:15or social exclusion.
06:17So, really, root issues there.
06:19But, Fabrice Legere, thank you so much for speaking to us there.
06:21From Strasbourg, and now from France, to Athens, where teachers, along with university and high school students,
06:26are planning a series of actions today in Greece's main cities to protest against the cost of living crisis,
06:32the lack of housing and low wages.
06:35For more, let's go straight to Athens and bring in our correspondent, Apostolos Stikas.
06:39So, Apostolos, have these protests been inspired by the French, and what are the main concerns for the Greeks?
06:47Good morning from Athens, Maeve.
06:49I was here yesterday afternoon, and they were 50 to 60 tents.
06:53But during the night, the police removed all of them, because the government says that Athens won't become Paris.
06:59Now, today we expect more than 50 demonstrations across the country.
07:05And about the imitation thing, well, the Greek students, they are certainly inspired by what is happening in Italy, France,
07:13of course, Albania.
07:14But they do not really imitate, because we have, you know, considerable experience in demonstrating in Greece,
07:20and unfortunately on violent classes as well.
07:23Now, what do they want?
07:26I mean, if you have to pay around 500 euros for an old house in Athens in order to study,
07:32and if you make around 1,000 euros, you cannot live in the city.
07:36You cannot expect to pay your bills, your rent, and then to make a living.
07:41This is the main argument, and of course, there are other issues, such as corruption.
07:46We don't have the same problem like in Albania, or the same demand, the resignation of the government.
07:53But yet, the cost of living is the first issue, but there is another broader agenda, let's say.
07:59As for the riots, allow me to remind you that in 2008, Athens was on fire for two weeks,
08:05because a teenager was murdered by a police officer.
08:08One year later, we had the economic crisis, the debt crisis, and huge crowds were demonstrating in Athens
08:14against the IMF, the European Union, and the austerity programs.
08:17So, the images that we receive from France, they are striking, but not really shocking for the Greek audience.
08:28So, cost of living and better quality of studies, that is the thing that we need to keep from the
08:33students' demo here in Athens.
08:35And this is the main message for today's demos as well.
08:39Okay, Apostola Stikas, and it's worth pointing out to our viewers that elections will be taking place, of course, as
08:44well,
08:44very soon in Greece, just like over in France.
08:47But moving on to Brussels blues.
08:50The EU wants to spend more on defence, competitiveness, and energy security.
08:54But there's just one problem.
08:55The money is not there.
08:57After last week's EU summit, the battle over the bloc's next-term long-term budget is just getting tougher,
09:03and EU member states are divided.
09:05Germany, as the EU's biggest contributor, will be at the centre of that fight.
09:10For more, EU News' Stefan Krohbe sat down with Germany's ambassador to the European Union,
09:14that's Thomas Hans-Avsofsky, and started by asking him whether the European Union
09:19is actually trying to build a budget that they cannot afford.
09:22The EU is building a budget which we need for the 21st century.
09:28But, obviously, the commission proposal was far too high.
09:32And so Germany expects that this budget is being cut by at least several hundreds of billions of euros.
09:42Now, the Irish presidency put a new proposal on the table, a nego box,
09:48which was already cut by 140 billion.
09:51So I would say we are not there yet.
09:53But we are now on a way to kind of try to find an agreement,
10:02but more cuts will be definitely necessary.
10:05How much money is Germany prepared to put on the table?
10:10What we need is a budget which is sustainable in financial terms,
10:15and also sustainable in terms of content.
10:19So we need a modernized budget, a budget which focuses on competitiveness,
10:25on innovation, on research, on defense and security, on Ukraine, of course.
10:32And, of course, we have these traditional expenditures like agriculture and cohesion.
10:37So, now, basically, we have to build upon this new structure,
10:43but it is still the overall amounts which are contested.
10:46And, as I said, Germany needs – and we are not alone.
10:50We have a few partners, you know, the so-called modernizers, to cut it down.
10:54Frugals.
10:55Modernizers.
10:56Modernizers.
10:57Modernizers.
10:58If the member states refuse to increase their contributions,
11:03would Germany be prepared to accept new common borrowing?
11:09No.
11:11Definitely not new common borrowing.
11:14Because we believe if we go down this path, we lose our sovereignty.
11:19What we need to do is to build upon what is affordable.
11:23We are not ready into looking into taxing European companies now at the European level, because we believe this is
11:32adding insight to injury.
11:33We want to keep European companies here in the internal market and not discourage them and to invest them somewhere
11:40else.
11:40On top of the 90 billion loan that is already earmarked for Ukraine, the country would need several billion, additional
11:52billion euros for the war effort.
11:56Does that mean that European farmers and families and other beneficiaries will have to get less so that Ukraine can
12:04get more?
12:05No, this doesn't mean that, because anyhow, the money which we provide for Ukraine, particularly the 90 billion, which were
12:14made available this year, are outside of the regular European budget.
12:19This is something that's a loan, which we organized with the help of the headroom, the so-called headroom of
12:24the multiannual financial framework.
12:26So it's outside of the budget.
12:27But one thing is very clear.
12:29The leaders also reaffirmed their continued support to Ukraine.
12:33So we will continue to support Ukraine to exercise its right of self-defense against the war of aggression by
12:41Russia.
12:41Let me repeat that.
12:43So Germany is prepared to keep Ukraine afloat financially, come what may.
12:48Germany stands with Ukraine and the European Union stands with Ukraine.
12:52But of course, we also expect from our international partners, the G7, also to stand with Ukraine and about the
13:00details of the support leaders will have to discuss now.
13:06Now, moving on to Oslo, where U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff held talks with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and
13:13a selection of European leaders.
13:15Today, he'll be moving on to Russia for further talks with Moscow officials aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.
13:21The meeting comes amid efforts to mend a deepening rift between Kiev and Washington, following a sharp deterioration in relations
13:28over U.S. support for Ukraine and the Trump administration's approach to Moscow.
13:33For more, we're joined here on set by our Ukraine correspondent, Sasha Bakalina.
13:36Good morning.
13:37Tell us, did anything come out of Oslo?
13:39And is there any sign of a breakthrough?
13:41Well, it's actually a very good sign that these talks did take place in Oslo, America, because this is the
13:45continuation of some sort of diplomacy.
13:47I mean, there's, of course, diplomatic tensions between Washington and Kiev these days.
13:51And there were quite a few substantial messages.
13:53Now, first of all, of course, is the fact that Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that the United States restored crucial early
13:58warning intel sharing, specifically when it comes to incoming Russian ballistic missiles.
14:04This is very important for the people because very often they have less than one minute on that warning to
14:08trying to seek shelter to save their lives and the lives of their loved ones.
14:12And the second one also was when Zelensky said that Washington confirmed its commitment to providing security guarantees to Ukraine.
14:18But that, of course, is once Russia's war against Ukraine is over.
14:22Let's take a listen to what Volodymyr Zelensky had to say.
14:24We already discussed security guarantees, and I'm thankful to American side that they underlie it again, that it will be
14:31strong.
14:32Yes, and we have different propositions.
14:35And we spoke about, you know, that NATO and Article 5 and Article 5 like there are different kinds of
14:42security guarantees which are in the paper.
14:45Yes, in the document and which Steve will share with Russians.
14:52We are thankful that intelligence works.
14:54Now, I'm speaking about early warning, what is very important for our people, for children, adults, civilians, because we can
15:04hear when ballistic is coming.
15:06So we are thankful to American side.
15:07Now it works.
15:09And has this diplomatic damage control in Oslo managed to ease tensions between Kyiv and Washington?
15:14Somehow, yes, because we have to say that, you know, after everything that's been happening and all these statements, fiery
15:18statements coming from both sides over the past week or so now, I think we can be rather certain to
15:25say that the immediate diplomatic crisis has somehow eased up.
15:29And that is, of course, also interesting to see how it happened, because the host of the meeting in Norway
15:33and Finland and Alex Stoop was one of the probably the most optimistic voice.
15:37Stoop is often referred to here in Europe as one of Trump's whispers.
15:41So he certainly put an effort into trying to sort this out and to find the diplomatic solution, although not
15:47so everything is not so rosy and pitchy there, maybe because Steve Witkoff did not stay for that joint press.
15:53So we could only see the three leaders there.
15:55He did not stay.
15:56He did not participate.
15:57He did not want to get those questions and answers.
15:59And he went straight to Moscow to actually bring whatever was discussed in Oslo to the Russian authorities, where he
16:05is expected also to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
16:09But let's take a listen to what Alexander Stoop had to say about these negotiations and the results of them.
16:16I think the top priority of the U.S. administration, President Trump, is to find a peaceful solution to Russia's
16:23war of aggression in Ukraine.
16:25And as I said earlier, I think on a substantive and technical level, we've actually made a lot of progress
16:31under the radar in the past week or so.
16:36And now I feel that the process is back on track and we'll continue to work on it together with
16:42our European friends.
16:44Alexander Stoop there.
16:45And before that, our Sasha Vakilina.
16:47Now moving on to the Arctic, which has become the new magnet for major world powers as melting ice opens
16:52up new shipping routes.
16:54And to keep afloat here amidst the U.S., China and Russian interest, the EU Commission has just presented their
16:59very own EU Arctic proposal.
17:01For more, our Marit Gwynn spoke to the EU's Head of International Partnerships, Joseph Sekela, and started by asking, why
17:07now?
17:08We basically try to reflect the new Arctic reality and the Arctic is changing very fast.
17:14This is about new attention to security and defense aspect, including the protection of the civil infrastructure.
17:24Of course, the changes are also affecting the new economic opportunities.
17:30But everything what we do, and this is basically the first main part of the strategy, we want to do
17:37together with the people who call Arctic its home.
17:41So with the indigenous people and the local communities.
17:44I want to ask you about what the strategy says about oil and gas drilling, because it maintains the EU's
17:52position that it wants a ban on any drilling in the Arctic region.
17:57Yet the message from other parts of the world is very different.
18:01The message from the White House is very clear.
18:03Drill, baby, drill.
18:05Can the EU maintain this position when basically the rest of the world is taking a completely different stance?
18:13And especially given the rising price of energy right now.
18:16The sustainability, the climate protection and the environmental protection is staying the overarching principle of our Arctic strategy.
18:27And when it comes to basically the plans of drilling, for example, in Greenland, I'm very much aware about the
18:36content of the agreements.
18:37And we follow the principle that nothing can happen without the local people.
18:46And there is no preferential treatment for U.S. companies when it comes to territory of Greenland.
18:55So nothing changed on our side.
18:59We believe that basically the fossil fuels, the coal, the gas, the oil should stay in the ground.
19:09You've pushed back against efforts to cut international funding as part of the EU's next long term budget.
19:16What do you think the consequences would be if this part, this part called global Europe, would be cut in
19:25the negotiations now amongst member states?
19:28Well, I think the consequences will be not only dramatic, but I tend to say in certain areas they might
19:36become even this topic.
19:38Look, Europe is the EU and the member states are basically the biggest supporter of the development agenda worldwide.
19:47But the step back by some of the other countries basically is meanwhile costing lives.
19:54And there is a huge window of opportunity for Europe, not only in Arctic, but also in Africa and other
20:03continents.
20:03There is a huge demand for Europe.
20:07This demand for Europe will not remain open forever.
20:11So if we miss this window of opportunity, which can help us to reduce the dependencies, then it will be,
20:19in my eyes, a big failure.
20:23Well, that brings Wednesday's edition of Europe Today to an end.
20:25Thanks for tuning in.
20:26See you soon.
20:33See you soon.
20:34See you soon.
20:34See you soon.