Giorgia Meloni’s administration has announced the deployment of 500 military troops to Milan after a weekend of intense protests and riots resulted in broken windows at luxury shops.
But while mainstream coverage has focused on exclusive brands hiding inventory from angry demonstrators, progressive organizations emphasize that the rage witnessed on the streets of several northern Italian cities is a result of the government’s own policies.
“A Louis Vuitton bag can cost €5,600, while the monthly maximum for the wage guarantee fund in 2026 is €1,340,” wrote the grassroots union Unione Sindacale di Base (USB). In a statement on Tuesday, the union cited devastating national statistics, including data showing that over 14% of working-class families live in absolute poverty.
Broken windows can be repaired, USB noted. “Five years of lost wages, an impoverished family, and a denied future cannot be recovered so easily.”
Students oppose austerity at school and beyond
Significant mobilizations preceded the weekend’s protests. On Friday, October 16, roughly 400,000 students flooded the streets for “No Meloni Day”. They criticized the government’s so-called securitization measures which in practice has meant stifling the right to protest, as well as the unabated turn toward war and armament.
Protesters warned that by prioritizing these points over public services and working conditions, Meloni and her ministers knowingly undermine the future of a whole generation.
Echoing developments in France, where teachers’ unions have supported students’ demands over recent weeks of historic struggle for a stronger public education system, educators in Italy began circulating appeals to do the same.
“The established order is the worst of all possible worlds – or comes very close to it – and our schools are a mirror of this: they are falling apart, alienating, militarized,” the appeal reads. “Places where the need to stretch one’s legs is labeled ‘indiscipline,’ and where the ‘foreigner’ is blamed for the decline in knowledge, rather than two decades of underfunding and neglect.”
Real solutions, not repression, needed to address social crisis
Trade unions, teachers, and students all denounced the repression authorities unleashed in response to the protests – both after mobilizations in cities and during school occupations.
“This government – incapable of offering solutions to the social crisis raging across the country – is once again attempting to manage the streets and social discontent solely through the lens of ‘public order,’ while intensifying repression and shrinking the space available for political activity,” emphasized youth organization Cambiare Rotta.
Students opposed the government’s focus on militarization. Source: Cambiare Rotta/Facebook
Teachers specifically called upon others in the system not to endorse crackdowns on students while invoking democratic values. “Democracy today resists in the French and Spanish squares, in the occupied Italian schools, in the resistance to the genocide of the Palestinian people, in the words and deeds of those who oppose the piecemeal world war,” they wrote.
“It is not to be found in threats, in tear gas, in police officers inside schools, or in students maimed by the weapons of our law enforcement. It is not to be found in the unjust rules that too many persist in defending.”
The increased protest activity has given hope that the spark that inspired massive mobilizations throughout 2025 might resurface. It comes less than two weeks before a new general strike – and an international dockworkers’ strike in which Italian port workers are set to play a notable role – on October 30.
PARIS, France: Paris is burning. Yet again. But this time, according to officials and analysts, it’s different. And unrest here could have a lasting impact on France… perhaps the world.
I have been covering protests in France for decades. I lived in Paris for nine years. I know that the French are very skilled at taking politics to the street. The recent upheaval has many worried.
From all the people I hear from on the ground here, the rioting has been more violent, more destructive, more profound. Domestic strife seemingly out of control.
When I approached the bar at a brasserie near Place de la Republique, the server asked if I was an American and a journalist. After replying yes to both he concluded, "So you’ve come to cover the civil war."
The numbers tell the tale. Some 2,500 arrests during the last weekend of clashes between protesters and police. Around 1,000 officers injured. Many hurt, some seriously, on the activists’ side. And about 3,000 businesses impacted, trashed, looted. Damage estimated over one billion dollars.
What was most striking were the attacks on official buildings. An historic city hall in Limoges. A police headquarters in crime-ridden Marseille. An important tourist office in Lyon. Symbols of a French government under siege.
The mostly peaceful protests supporting recent student concerns, as well as working and middle-class economic worries, hijacked by those bent on anarchy. And opportunistic young crooks looking for cheap thrills.
Yes, there are immigrants and foreigners amid the rabble. Plus, those said to have ties with so-called "ultra-left" groupings. But this remains a very French uprising. Which in a way makes it even more unsettling.
Nearly ten years of rule by President Emmanuel Macron has left this country more divided, with promises unfilled, anger near the surface. And violence a real danger.
What was also deeply troubling about the latest bout of violence — and authorities have admitted it — is that there were periods of time when parts of Paris and other cities were out of control. Shop owners were forced to fend for themselves.
All of this plum pickings for politicians on the left and right. Either sympathizing with protesters’ demands. Or calling for more law and order. Both sides slamming those in power. With presidential elections upcoming in six months, timing is everything.
With the French treasury bare, it seems the more pressing and more promising route for the current authorities is greater security.
That’s why top government officials have been speaking out about their planning for the next big protest set for this weekend. French Prime Minister Lecornu says it will be countered by a "massive police operation" backed by the military. Activists will have to choose, Lecornu went on to say, between "violence" and the French "republic."
"Do or die" talk that still does not address the underlying problems, not just facing France but other countries as well. That’s why, in addition to the curiosity factor of everyone being intrigued by France, it could also provide some real-time lessons on how or how not to deal with a brave new world of inequality and dwindling resources.
The U.S. Embassy in France is warning Americans to steer clear of violent protests as unrest sparked curfews and raised concerns about travel disruptions across the country.
The riots — fueled by a range of grievances, including rising living costs and mass migration — have been reported across France, with protests reported in cities including Paris, Lille and Lyon. Authorities have imposed localized curfews as a result.
The embassy said in a Monday statement that partial curfews had been introduced in several French cities, with additional restrictions possible.
"Following the October 17 protests that turned violent, media report the Prime Minister’s office introduced partial curfews for Monday, October 19 and Tuesday, October 20 in several cities across France, including Lille," the embassy said.
"Media report more curfews may follow for parts of Paris and in prefectures across the country, and that scattered protests could continue."
In Paris, authorities also imposed overnight curfews in areas including Place de la République and the Les Halles Shopping District, according to The Associated Press (AP).
Riot police deployed tear gas across the streets near Place de la République in an attempt to disperse crowds during the escalating street battles, the same source reported.
Major tourist attractions have also been impacted.
The Louvre Museum in Paris was forced to close Monday after protesters blocked its entrances, Fox News Digital previously reported.
Travelers visiting Paris are being advised to avoid popular protest gathering spots, including Place de la République, Place de la Bastille and Place de la Nation, along with major thoroughfares such as Boulevard Voltaire, which are frequently used for demonstrations, according to The Times of London.
Outside the capital, Lyon's tourism office at Place Bellecour was vandalized and set ablaze during the Oct. 17 demonstrations, according to city officials.
Visitor services have since been relocated to a temporary facility on the same square.
The violence also spread to other French cities, including Limoges, where the historic town hall was set ablaze during the Oct. 17 unrest, according to numerous reports.
In Bordeaux, the mayor reported that as many as 100 stores had been looted during the demonstrations, Reuters reported.
Despite the violence, flights to and from Paris have largely continued operating, according to flight data reviewed by Fox News Digital.
However, travelers could still face disruptions on the ground, with the embassy advising Americans to check for Metro station closures and other transportation interruptions before heading out.
The embassy also urged travelers to confirm flight schedules directly with their airlines and allow extra time to reach their destinations.
"Monitor media and local resources for updated information and curfews in your area," the statement added. "Plan alternative routes and allow extra travel time for travel."
Fox News Digital reached out to the State Department for comment.
The Italian prime minister sends more soldiers to Milan in anticipation of the protests scheduled for Oct. 24.
Through a video posted on Tuesday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced the promulgation of a decree aimed at cracking down on “juvenile gangs” and “violent street protests.” She authorized reinforcing with military personnel security forces in Milan.
“Five hundred more military personnel are arriving in Milan, until the end of the year alongside police and carabinieri. And to juvenile justice we are giving more magistrates and more places in centers, so that the certainty of punishment also applies to those who are 16 years old,” the far-right politician said.
Approved at a meeting of the Council of Ministers, the decree establishes that the soldiers will reinforce “Operation Safe Streets,” an initiative implemented in 2008 that keeps some 5,000 Army personnel deployed in numerous “hot spots” across the country.
Her decree will take effect immediately, will have a 60-day period to be ratified by the Italian Parliament, and includes the creation of the “crime of violent participation in a demonstration.”
Nuova giornata di guerriglia a Milano. Gruppo di incappucciati assalta negozi in via Torino. pic.twitter.com/BBI4x47NJH
The text reads, “Another day of guerrilla-style unrest in Milan. A group of hooded individuals attacks shops on Via Torino.”
“If during a march or a demonstration you join a group of 5 or more people, you start throwing stones, firecrackers, sticks, you endanger everyone’s safety, you risk up to 5 years in prison and up to 20,000 euros in fines,” Meloni said, and clarified that the decree introduces the principle that “the breaker pays, and if the breaker is a minor, his or her parents pay.”
Aggravating factors may be applied to this new crime if the person has their face covered or if someone has been injured. Biometric identification assisted by artificial intelligence is also authorized, explained the Italian outlet TG La 7.
In the criminal sphere, authorities will be able to immediately apply preventive detention to minors between 14 and 18 years old, and the police chief will be able to apply oral warnings and bans on gathering in public places to young people with a record of violent acts.
IL FUTURO È UNA SCELTA La vittoria al referendum sulla giustizia ha dimostrato che, insieme, possiamo fare la differenza. Oltre cento associazioni già aderiscono alla Via Maestra. Unisciti a noi.
LAVORO, PACE, AMBIENTE, WELFARE, COSTITUZIONE. INSIEME SULLA VIA MAESTRA.
“THE FUTURE IS A CHOICE. The victory in the referendum on justice has shown that, together, we can make a difference. More than a hundred associations have already joined “The Main Path.” Join us.
WORK, PEACE, ENVIRONMENT, WELL-BEING, CONSTITUTION. TOGETHER ON ‘THE MAIN PATH.’ The Constitution points to a clear way: a country founded on work, social justice, equality, and peace.
This way remains our ‘Main Path.’ Today, however, Italy is moving in the opposite direction. We choose a different path: the path of the Constitution. Hear from Francesca Cantagallo, of the ‘Knowledge Network’, and join us.
OCTOBER 17, ROME. National demonstration. The demonstration will begin at 1:30 PM. Participants will gather at Republic Square and, following a march, the event will conclude at People’s Square around 5:00 PM.”
Initially, Meloni’s decree also contemplated exceptionally assigning police functions to the military for three months, which would have allowed them to make arrests. This provision, however, was left out of the approved text.
Referring to the demonstrations of the past weekend, Meloni said that security forces had detained or identified 330 people, half of them of foreign origin, among whom are people born outside Italy and others born in the country but to foreign parents.
Meloni’s decision comes in response to the protests promoted for Saturday, Oct. 24 by the “October 17 Movement” (17M10), a youth protest group that emerged as a result of the recent clashes in downtown Milan and that has announced permanent mobilizations until the fall of the Meloni administration.
“We are the ones from the squares. Those who see the only violence in the police stick. The violent ones are you who have denied us the future. Now we take that future into our own hands. Violent is this system that kills us. Permanent mobilization every Saturday until this thieving government falls,” the 17M10 stated.
Violent riots sweeping France have exposed a far-left network of communist groups, labor unions and political activists mobilizing around student grievances, raising questions about whether similar political and immigration tensions could ignite unrest on American streets.
A Fox News Digital investigation identified 50 organizations involved in France's student protest movement and its broader network of supporters and international amplifiers, including communist and socialist groups, labor unions and political parties.
The American parallels extend beyond political rhetoric. Fox News Digital previously reported that agitators at Delaney Hall in Newark used encrypted Signal chats to coordinate transportation, supplies and demonstrations before clashes with federal agents.
Santiago Vidal Calvo, a researcher at the Manhattan Institute, singled out New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, arguing that their approaches to immigration enforcement could move the United States closer to conditions he associates with France's crisis.
"I have absolutely no doubts that if we had Mamdanis or El-Sayeds or AOCs in charge of immigration policy, our immigration landscape would be very different today than what it currently is," Calvo told Fox News Digital.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has made a similar argument, explicitly tying France's violence to the stakes of the 2026 midterms.
"France is descending into chaos because they wanted OPEN BORDERS — just like the socialist Democrats in America," Johnson wrote on X. "What we are witnessing is a chilling warning for all Americans of what happens if the radical Marxist insurgent left gets their way."
Johnson argued that a Democratic victory in November would lead to more permissive immigration policies, casting the election as a choice between the Trump administration's immigration crackdown and the approach favored by Democrats. President Donald Trump similarly posted on Truth Social that "migrants have taken over France," urging the country to "CLOSE THE BORDERS, FAST!"
The immigration debate is also playing out directly in the 2026 midterms. In Michigan's closely watched Senate race, Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed has made abolishing ICE a campaign position, arguing that the agency cannot be reformed. His Republican opponent, Mike Rogers, has sought to portray El-Sayed as an ideological extremist as the two compete for a seat that could help determine control of the Senate.
In New York City, Mamdani signed a February executive order reinforcing sanctuary protections and restricting federal immigration enforcement on city property without a judicial warrant. Both Mamdani and El-Sayed frame their policies as safeguards against abusive enforcement, while critics warn they could weaken immigration controls.
The unrest began with students protesting conditions in France's education system before labor unions, political activists and groups with separate grievances joined the movement. Fox News Digital's investigation found that 15 of the 50 organizations identified in the broader network were student or youth groups.
Andrew Arthur, a former immigration judge and fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, described a convergence of frustrations over school funding, rising costs, France's stagnant economy and longstanding tensions surrounding immigration and assimilation.
"You've got the simple educational one which is partially economic, you've got the larger economic one and on top of that you have the assimilation issue," Arthur said.
"Now can we see mass protests like this in the United States? I don't think so," Arthur said, noting that protests over urban ICE operations have not escalated into a comparable nationwide movement.
Nathalie Szerman, a Europe-based researcher with the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), pointed to another potential factor: The demonstrations intensified around the 65th anniversary of the Oct. 17, 1961, massacre of Algerian demonstrators by Paris police.
"October 17 is a very symbolic date for the Algerian-ethnic groups," Szerman told Fox News Digital, describing demonstrators memorializing a deadly 1961 crackdown by Paris police on Algerian demonstrators.
"The first protest groups were not ideologically aligned with 'political Islam' but were students from immigrant suburbs, driven by education concerns. Agenda-driven, organized 'Political Muslim' groups used the momentum of the protests for their own ends," Szerman said.
"It's a lot of things together, the resentment towards France and the political agenda," she said.
Alan Mendoza, executive director of the U.K.'s Henry Jackson Society — named for the late Washington Sen. Scoop Jackson — argued that the far-left movement led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon helped encourage broader mobilization ahead of France's next presidential election.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu blamed Mélenchon and his party for the unrest, according to Le Monde, while Mélenchon fired back after Lecornu demanded that LFI "choose a side" between France and the rioters — calling the either-or "detestable."
Mendoza warned that similar political tensions could surface in America, citing backlash against socialist New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani from anti-Israel activists who had previously supported him.
"What was interesting was the sight of him being turned on by the pro-Palestinian protesters the other day, when he was acknowledging October the 7th, the loss of human life on his radio site, he was turned on by the very hard left people who had helped propel him to power," Mendoza said.
"What that shows you is that it is very real a possibility at the hard left who are never satisfied and actually want chaos more than anything else," Mendoza added.
Arthur said France's far left can openly champion expansive immigration policies, while American Democrats face a different political reality: They cannot publicly embrace open borders without risking backlash, he argued, pointing to the Biden administration's tendency to portray illegal immigration as a problem it could not control rather than a policy it actively supported.
"Riot is to France what football is to the United States," said Arthur.
Szerman, however, said comparable unrest was possible despite differences between the two countries.
"I definitely think that what's happening in France could happen in the United States," she said, while noting that the more accommodating U.S. education system and different approach to immigrant integration could reduce the severity of any such violence, making a French-style nationwide crisis less likely.
Calvo, meanwhile, warned that adopting more expansive immigration policies without adequate screening and integration safeguards could create pressures similar to those he believes contributed to France's unrest.
"France is in this mess because of the horrible policies they had in immigration over the last years," he said, warning that importing similar approaches could bring unrest to American communities.
Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani, El-Sayed and Ocasio-Cortez for comment.
Fox News Digital's Ashely DiMella contributed to this report.
The title of that 1960s movie came from a message Adolf Hitler sent to his commanding general in Paris in August 1944. He wanted Paris to burn if he couldn’t keep it.
Today, the call isn’t coming from the Führerbunker; it’s from inside the house. It’s not Nazis, but the French — and quasi-French — burning Paris and other French cities.
The Louvre museum in Paris, home to the Mona Lisa, closed Monday "due to a student social movement." That’s one way to describe the utter chaos overtaking French cities.
In Limoges, rioters set fire to the town hall, destroying its iconic tower. In Marseille, they broke into city hall and vandalized the interior. In Paris, a video circulating online appeared to show young thugs shouting, "Wallah! Kill her!" and "Dirty whore!" [my translation] at a policewoman they chased and threw to the ground — all while trashing property and assaulting people on the streets.
What’s happening in France is both familiar and new. It’s familiar in that mass protests are endemic to France. They happen every few years when a feckless government tries to balance the books by reforming France’s ruinously generous public benefits. What’s new is the addition of foreign influence and the scale of the violence.
The high-schoolers who kicked off this round of protests are angry about class sizes, dilapidated schools, and access to college. Retirees who joined them say state pensions aren’t enough to live on. Everyone complains about the high cost of living. They all want more state spending to cure their ills.
French protests often turn violent. Torched cars, vandalized property, and looting are common. What has added fuel to the fire this time is the "Casseurs" (breakers), looters, and violent thugs going beyond what was tacitly tolerated in the past. Many seem to be of migrant background, and some carry Palestinian flags or those of the North African countries they or their parents came from.
Videos in French media showed streets of looted stores. Rue Paradis in Marseille has many high-end jewelry and fashion stores, but also many mom-and-pop shops whose owners work long hours for little profit. Dozens of these are now looted shells. Their metal shutters — designed to prevent windows from being broken and stores from being burglarized — lie torn off or broken.
Many of France’s major cities are run by socialists. Marseille’s mayor, Benoit Payan, blames the French government for failing to protect city hall — where his own office is — and local stores. He wants Paris to pay for all the damage. Once again, the French taxpayer is on the hook.
How does this end? Not quickly. The political left is well organized, galvanized, and funded — including with foreign money. We are likely to see more promises of increased spending from lame-duck President Emmanuel Macron, now in the last year of his two terms and unable to run again. He gave a speech condemning the violence on Sunday, but he’s been notably absent as it has unfolded. On Tuesday he stuck with his schedule and flew to the Gulf region.
France has presidential elections next April. Two leading contenders are Marine Le Pen of the right-wing National Rally (NR) and Jean-Luc Melenchon of the left-wing France Unbowed (LFI). Of the two, Le Pen promises to lower migration and limit welfare payments to migrants. Melenchon welcomes mass migration and opposes any reduction in benefits. Le Pen opposes illegal migration, but she hasn’t campaigned on reducing the bloated benefits bill.
But France’s checkbook is tapped out. It hasn’t balanced a budget in 50 years, and this year’s deficit is over 5%. Economic growth is under 1%. Diesel costs about $10 a gallon. National debt is 120% of GDP, and the bond market is getting nervous.
Like other developed countries, France’s fertility rate is below replacement, and the country has allowed in millions of immigrants from its former colonies. On balance, these new arrivals and their children have a lower employment rate than native French, but they get the same social services. Those numbers don’t work, no matter how smart the president in Paris.
Not only is France broke, but it has too few bodies to handle multiple riots at once. France’s national police handle the cities, while the gendarmes enforce the law in the countryside. Both are funded centrally by the French state. Towns have municipal police, but they aren’t equipped or trained for law enforcement, let alone riot control. France has specialized riot-control units, but only so many. The French military is probably Europe’s best, but it is not used for internal operations.
Like France, some of our major cities, New York and Seattle, are now run by avowed socialists. Arguably, administrations in Boston and Los Angeles are also closely aligned with DSA values. And more cities will be in the future.
The DSA wants open borders, nationalized health care, curtailed law enforcement, and higher taxes. If we don’t take heed, France’s present could be our future.
Monday night in San Francisco, for the second consecutive game of the WNBA Finals, the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries stepped off the court before the national anthem and then immediately returned to the court after Canadian-born Alanis Morissette finished her performance.
The spineless league hasn't said a word despite the women continuing to break an anthem rulebook provision that requires them to attend the performance. Now that we've reported, it's time for you guys to react and share your feelings on this drama that isn't going away.
OutKick readers weigh in on how the anthem situation should be handled:
• UNLV Doc has some deep thoughts to share: WNBA types and political sycophants probably think they're rebels, and they are. But they are rebelling against order and creation in favor of chaos, which is always the easy way to mindlessly effect change, and what the selfish have always done. Honorable rebels take a stand, work, and sacrifice, even against self-interest to bravely bring about something other than the chaos that naturally exists without applied effort to create something good. I'm looking forward to seeing such leaders emerge from the WNBA mob; I know they're in there somewhere.
• Richard C. sent in this great take:How about a double disqualification and no champion recognized this year.
• Carmen has hit a breaking point:I love Daily Outkick and I hate the WNBA and everyday it's just funny to read and move on. It's not that funny anymore. The WNBA has failed women. As a female coach, I do my best to build strong, confident, capable, athletes who happen to be females. They are held to a standard that doesn't include entitlement, excuses, or any agenda other than TEAM.
The WNBA is about anything but sport, and that is inexcusable for so many young women pursuing professional sports. Pushing themselves to another level to achieve their goals. It's embarrassing that this is women's professional basketball when so few hold themselves to that level. It's a soap opera that deserves zero attention.
As an organization that is supposed to promote the best in women's sport, it's become laughable. It's a joke that has a played out punchline. You have failed those you are supposed to be a trailblazer for. When athletic performance is secondary to everything else, you have failed as a league.
• Pops makes a good point: The WNBA proves once again they are a political activist organization not a women’s basketball organization. They decide what rules they want to enforce and what rules they will not enforce.
• Kenneth is fed up:Well I have an answer. If the WNBA had any balls (which they don’t) both teams would be banned from playing the game and all players suspended indefinitely. If you can’t attend and stand for the national anthem of the country that has given you everything then you have no business being here.
• Mark S. sends a message to WNBA executives:What a crock. The league is a farce and an embarrassment to our country, not thier country. Fine them all. This is not a political forum it is a game and rules are rules. Enough of the lesbian leaque and who wnba management listen to. Stand up and control your players or get rid of them Set an example.
• Mike Mc. says:The WNBA is a sideshow of awkward misfits playing a child's game poorly. It's no surprise that they do dumb things, but it is surprising that any discerning "fan" pays attention to this collection of grumpy malcontents. On second thought, if you had any discernment, you wouldn't be a fan. Problem solved.
• Joe B. wants the WNBA to take a hike: Remove the entire league from USA arenas. Sell the entire group to Europe, Asia or a South America country. Who needs these disrespectful ingrates playing here?
• Don says enough is enough: Why are we continually putting up with the WNBA? They have proven they are a league that continually cares only about themselves and no one or nothing else.The league fails to react to any of the players who disobey the rules. They have tried to turn this into a racial bias league. I think i am done.
• Gary says punish them for breaking the rules: This is just another example of disrespect for our nation and should not go unpunished by the league. Actions should have consequences.
• Richard S. tells us: Stop giving the anti American league any more print.
• Michael M. emails: I think all the international players should be deported for not respecting the American flag and National Anthem and all the lesbians be disbarred from playing in the WNBA.
• Jerry has a simple message: Real Americans don't watch this trash anyway.
Here's a sampling of other comments posted to our WNBA anthem coverage:
It’s like this league/teams/players go out of their way to make people not like them. I’ve never seen a major sports or entertainment franchise so hell bent as this one to be as unappealing to the public at large as this one. It’s quite amazing.
Disgusting. But as a private organization I guess the players can do what they want…. as can I. I immediately changed the channel. I won’t watch that baloney. We don’t need another France.
Once could be a mix up. Twice in a row is INTENTIONAL! The coaches, the players, and the owners should be fined.
Fine each team $250,000 for this offense. Third offense $350,000 each. Fourth offense each team gets one game forfeited. Get serious WNBA! This is a disgrace.
The WNBA finally has a shot at gaining traction and instead of embracing it, they seem determined to throw it away.
This aligns with the sickness of our culture - lack of gratitude. the fact that a person can kneel during the national anthem is reason to stand for it. That alone, we should be grateful.
It is amazing to watch an organization "Bud-Light" themselves. They already can't support themselves. They have to be subsidized by the NBA. I don't see much of a future for the WNBA.
“We call on members of Congress to demand the US government place sanctions on illegal Israeli settlers and the Israeli military,” said the Council on American-Islamic Relations and CAIR-Chicago.
Soccer fans have labeled reporters 'worms' and 'traitors' for covering antisemitic march ahead of game; banner posted on social media depicts journalists hanging from a tree
Offers made by Portadown District to allow Orangemen to walk the Garvaghy Road have been revealed in court – including a 4AM march, accommodated by a residents’ protest.The court has finished hearing submissions during the legal challenge to the Secretary of State’s ban on the Drumcree parade. Mr Justice Scoffield is to deliver his judgement next week.Talks broke down after both parties refused to compromise on the proposed route. Olivia Peden is joined by Allison Morris who was in court.
FIRST ON FOX: The State Department warns that antifascist groups are planning to participate in a "potentially more confrontational protest" this weekend as the far-right National Rally holds its political convention just days after widespread riots overwhelmed police and exposed major security failures.
As party leader Marine Le Pen prepares for the gathering on Oct. 24–25 in Orléans, France, an internal document obtained by Fox News Digital cautions that antagonists are planning more demonstrations near the convention venue that could "expose further security shortcomings and deepen political tensions."
The warning comes at a particularly dangerous political moment for President Emmanuel Macron, considering the same unrest that exposed his government's security vulnerabilities could also give National Rally and center-right parties an opening to challenge his record, according to the State Department assessment.
Now, French authorities face another high-stakes security test as demonstrators prepare to converge on the congress of a party that could benefit politically from the previous unrest.
The demonstrations are expected to coincide with the National Rally's two-day party congress, where Le Pen is set to launch her presidential campaign. Left-wing parties, unions and activist groups are planning a march Saturday, while antifascist groups have announced plans for a separate protest Sunday near the convention venue, according to the State Department assessment.
National Rally President Jordan Bardella has ruled out canceling the congress, while local authorities are preparing additional security restrictions around the gathering.
The looming confrontation comes as France is still reeling from the Oct. 17 unrest, when authorities badly underestimated the scale of demonstrations that descended into widespread rioting and looting.
Some 550,000 people joined 110 marches nationwide, according to France's Interior Ministry. More than 2,400 people were arrested, nearly 1,000 law enforcement officers and firefighters were injured and thousands of businesses were damaged. And intelligence failures that far underestimated the turnout left authorities overwhelmed and facing more than double the number of protesters originally estimated.
The State Department's internal assessment notes that the violence has reshaped France's political debate just six months before voters choose Macron's successor. It says the unrest has shifted attention away from the economic and education grievances that initially drove the protests and toward public security and government accountability, potentially giving National Rally and center-right parties an opening to challenge Macron's record.
French officials have acknowledged that intelligence and planning failures contributed to authorities being overwhelmed during the Oct. 17 unrest.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez offered his resignation after acknowledging police "lost control" in some major cities. Macron rejected it, citing the need for continuity in law enforcement command, and ordered "full transparency" over the failures in planning and intelligence-gathering that preceded the violence.
Nuñez has said authorities need to improve their ability to anticipate large-scale mobilizations, putting added pressure on security services to avoid a repeat when demonstrators converge on Orléans this weekend.
And the government may have little time to recover even if the National Rally congress passes without major violence.
Labor organizations are already mobilizing for nationwide strikes and demonstrations Nov. 5 over wages, public services and the proposed 2027 budget, according to the State Department document.
The internal assessment said Macron faces competing pressure to restore order while addressing the grievances fueling the protests, with limited fiscal room for concessions as parliament debates next year's budget.
With parliamentary scrutiny looming and further demonstrations already planned, the State Department assessed that France faces another potential flash point that could "expose further security shortcomings and deepen political tensions."
Protests rarely remain confined to the grievances that first bring people into the streets. When the citizens believe their concerns are being ignored, a grievance over a particular policy or administrative decision can evolve into a broader challenge to the political authority. Consequently, what begins as a demand for correction becomes a question of accountability. […]
The European Union claims that "the fundamental right to freedom of expression" only applies to journalists "acting in good faith," and that authorities do not have to give due process before freezing people's bank accounts, as these sanctions are "temporary and are not criminal in nature," according to a legal letter shared by a sanctioned journalist.
Last year, the European Union blacklisted 21 people for allegedly spreading Russian propaganda, banning them from doing business in Europe. One of them, Hüseyin Doğru, was falsely listed as a Turkish citizen living in Istanbul. In fact, Doğru is a German journalist in Berlin, making him the first European citizen on European soil to be sanctioned this way.
It was like being sentenced to "civil death," Doğru told American journalist Chris Hedges. He was banned from holding a job in Europe or having a European bank account, and authorities have restricted Doğru to a €506 ($567) per month allowance from his own money. "The sanctions are designed for people outside of Europe, so they don't really know how that should function with me, because I'm a European citizen and I'm living in Europe," Doğru told Hedges.
Last month, the civil libertarian Wau Holland Foundation hired lawyers to contest the sanctions against Doğru. And earlier this month, the Council of the European Union sent a response letter, which Doğru shared on social media, promising to escalate the case to the E.U. General Court. Although the council conceded to Doğru that he is not a Turkish citizen living in Turkey, it still insisted on the authority to punish him for his speech.
The council quoted a 2022 court case between the Russian news outlet RT and several European countries: "The protection of the right of the media and, more particularly, of journalists to impart information on issues of general interest is subject to the proviso that they are acting in good faith and on an accurate factual basis and provide 'reliable and precise' information in accordance with the ethics of journalism."
Doğru's lawyers insisted that he should be treated as innocent until proven guilty. But the council responded that sanctions fall short of a criminal punishment, so any complaint about a "violation of the presumption of innocence is therefore unfounded." In other words, because he is not accused of a crime, Doğru has fewer rights than a criminal suspect.
"People need to understand sanctions are an extrajudicial measure. They're extrajudicial. There's no court. There is no hearing, no evidence, there is no sentence by the court, nothing," Doğru told Hedges. "When you're sanctioned, you are not informed….The day when I was sanctioned, me and my wife, my wife was pregnant back then, we went to the pharmacy to buy medicine for her, and her cards did not work."
The original blacklisting decision accuses Doğru of supporting "actions by the Government of the Russian Federation which undermine or threaten stability and security in the Union" by spreading "false information on politically controversial subjects with the intent of creating ethnic, political and religious discord amongst its predominantly German target audience."
Doğru and his wife, British journalist Lizzie Phelan, previously worked at the Russian-funded publication Redfish. A few months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he split off to create a new website called red.media, insisting to The Left Berlin that "we are not Russian. We are not Kremlin. red.media is not funded by Russia or any other state." In the same interview, Doğru called Russia an "imperialist" regime.
But in September 2024, a Biden administration "fact sheet" on Russian propaganda offhandedly mentioned red.media, citing a hit piece on Doğru by the German newspaper Tagesspiegel. Doğru told Hedges that the U.S. fact sheet created a circular logic in German media: "They said red.media is Russian because [U.S. Secretary of State Antony] Blinken said so. But what they never said is that Blinken is referring to your articles where you never say it like that. You say there is a suspicion, it might be so."
Doğru shut down red.media in May 2025 due to the bad press. The European Union sanctioned him a few weeks later. Doğru's lawyer, Alexander Górski, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine earlier this year that the European Union didn't "even attempt to make an evidentiary case" about any ongoing connection to Russia.
The blacklisting decision also claimed that, during a pro-Palestinian student protest at Humboldt University in Berlin, red.media "coordinated with the occupiers to disseminate images of their vandalism—which included the use of Hamas symbols." Doğru told Hedges that these accusations are an attack on journalists' freedom to do their jobs.
The European Union does not have the same protections for the freedom of the press as the U.S. Constitution. Earlier this year, the Curia of the European Union ruled that simply reposting clips from Russian media could be a violation of European sanctions, even if no money changes hands, something that is explicitly exempted from U.S. sanctions under the Berman Amendment.
Still, U.S. authorities have tried to push the limits of international sanctions to censor speech. The Biden administration told an American nonprofit that "the provision of a platform for [the sanctioned individuals] to speak" was illegal, backing down after the nonprofit sued.
And the Trump administration sanctioned Italian academic Francesca Albanese for her "lawfare" calling for the prosecution of Israeli leaders and a boycott of Israeli industries. In addition to freezing her bank accounts, the sanctions forced Columbia University researchers to cut off their relationship with Albanese, and Georgetown University to close her email account.
In the same statement accusing red.stream of being a Russian front, the Biden administration announced sanctions on two Russian news agencies. "We encourage dissent, open debate, and free discourse. But we will not stand for attempts by state actors to carry out covert activities with the goal of hijacking that discourse," the statement insisted. "The ultimate goal of sanctions is not to punish, but to bring about a positive change in behavior."
What began as peaceful demonstrations over school conditions culminated in nationwide cost-of-living protests and, subsequently, riots.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said Tuesday that curfews imposed on Monday contributed to a calm night, though more protests are planned, according to Reuters.
The riots and protests echo many in France's long history of mass demonstrations. From nationwide strikes to student demonstrations, several have brought the country to a standstill, in some cases prompting France's leaders to announce a state of emergency.
Take a look at some of France's biggest and most impactful protests and riots over the past 100 years.
1934 — February 6 riots
War veterans marching with their National Association of War Veterans banderoles at Place de la Concorde, Paris, February, 6th 1934.
Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images
Veterans and right-wing demonstrators took to the streets following a government corruption scandal. At least 15 people were killed.
The French Prime Minister at the time resigned the following day, stoking fears of a fascist coup.
1936 — Popular Front strikes
A demonstration in Paris in May, 1936.
AFP via Getty Images
Alongside an economic crisis, fears of a fascist coup after the 1934 riots helped unite left-wing parties and trade unions. Mass strikes and factory occupations in May and June 1936 led to major labor reforms, according to France's National Assembly.
1948 — Miners' strike
Striking miner on October 27, 1948.
-/AFP via Getty Images
In 1948, 300,000 French coal miners went on strike to protest economic conditions, per The New York Times. There was a heavy government crackdown, where some striking miners were killed, and another 3,000 were fired, according to AFP.
1961 — Paris Algerian demonstration and massacre
Algerian demonstrators arrested during the peaceful demonstration wait with their hands above their heads in a bus requisitioned by the police, October 17, 1961.
AFP via Getty Images
About 30,000 Algerians peacefully demonstrated against a curfew and in support of Algeria's independence, according to the BBC.
French police brutally cracked down. Historians estimate that at least 120 Algerians were killed, though some estimates put that number closer to 300, Al Jazeera reported.
1968 — May 1968
Students occupy the Sorbonne in Paris, May 14, 1968.
Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
What started as a student movement demanding university reforms turned into millions of people striking after trade unions joined the uprising.
Between the protests and rioting, the demonstrations brought the nation to a standstill. To restore order, then-president Charles de Gaulle dissolved the National Assembly and called early elections, which his party won in June.
In this year's student protests, many banners referenced "May 1968," Time reported.
1986 — Anti-Devaquet student protests
Students demonstrate in Paris, December 6, 1986.
Michel SETBOUN/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
Hundreds of thousands of students protested proposed university reforms they feared would restrict access to higher education.
Three weeks of violent clashes with police left hundreds injured and 22-year-old Malik Oussekine dead, forcing Prime Minister Jacques Chirac to withdraw the reforms, Time reported.
1995 — Strikes against pension reforms
Tram drivers of the RTM group demonstrate during a strike in Marseille, December 28, 1995.
Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP via Getty Images
Between October and December 1995, public-sector workers went on strike against proposed austerity measures and pension reforms, bringing the country to a standstill, per the Global Nonviolent Action Database.
Then-prime minister Alain Juppé withdrew the proposed changes to public-sector pension plans, though other parts of his reform package went ahead.
2005 — French riots
Firefighters battle a warehouse blaze in Aubervilliers, on the outskirts of Paris, November 4, 2005.
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
After two teenagers died while hiding from the police, riots began in Clichy-sous-Bois, a Parisian suburb, which then spread to other cities, the BBC reported at the time.
The government declared a state of emergency as unrest spread. The riots lasted about three weeks, while the state of emergency ended after about two months.
2018 — Gilets Jaunes
A "yellow vest" anti-government demonstrator in front of French riot police during a protest in Bordeaux, December 29, 2018.
MEHDI FEDOUACH/AFP via Getty Images
"Les Gilets Jaunes," or 'the yellow vests' in English, was a 2018 protest movement against a planned increase in fuel taxes that evolved into broader anti-government demonstrations, leading to deaths.
The French Prime Minister, Édouard Philippe, froze the tax hike in December that year and then fully canceled it days later.
2023 — Pension reform protests
Protesters march during a demonstration in Lille, March 23, 2023.
SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP via Getty Images
Hundreds of thousands of people protested and went on strike against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms, which raised the retirement age from 62 to 64, according to Le Monde.
Macron's government enacted the reform despite the protests; the retirement age began rising in September 2023 and is scheduled to reach 64 by 2030.
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