Making clear that he would target cutting Italy’s huge public debt and stimulate growth, Monti said Italy had a higher average retirement age than in France and Germany, and that chronic tax evasion must be fought while reducing the overall tax burden. Monti said on Wednesday he was confident that his new government would help restore confidence to panicked financial markets, but the task he faces was underlined by the continued surge in Italian bond yields.

European leaders have welcomed the appointment of Monti, a sober and reserved economist and tough negotiator with a decade of experience as a European commissioner. Meanwhile, thousands of students staged protests in several Italian cities against Mr. Monti’s government. Riot police intervened in Milan after hundreds of students protesting against the “bankers’ government” tried to reach Bocconi University, which is headed by Mr. Monti, an economist. In Palermo, Sicily, demonstrators reportedly hurled eggs and smoke bombs at a bank, and others threw stones at police. In Rome, hundreds of students gathered outside Sapienza University, while others assembled near the main train station, apparently with the aim of marching on the Senate. “We are on the streets because we want to underline the contradictions that are between the fall of Berlusconi government and the rise of the Monti government,” said student Salvatore Corizza in Rome.