Italy sends 500 troops to Milan after protest looting

Italy will deploy 500 troops to Milan and rush through a package of hardline security laws after cost-of-living demonstrations erupted into street violence, with more rallies called for Saturday. The measures under consideration by Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing administration include longer preventive detention for juveniles, a crackdown on youth gangs and bans on public assemblies for individuals considered a danger to order, Italian newspapers reported Tuesday.

Milan unrest leaves trail of damage

During Saturday and Sunday’s disturbances, hooded youths torched rubbish bins, looted stores and shattered windows near Milan’s cathedral, prompting police to hold 271 young people. Officers fired teargas and used water cannon against the violent factions operating on the margins of what began as a peaceful rally. According to Monday’s police statement, 32 of those detained were arrested — among them 23 minors and 13 foreign citizens — while 28 more were referred to judicial authorities. Ansa news agency reported that one proposed measure targets second-generation immigrant youths referred to as “maranza,” slang for gangs of youngsters typically from deprived neighbourhoods. Fearing fresh trouble, numerous luxury boutiques in Milan’s fashion quarter remained shut, with Chanel, Tiffany and Dior pulling goods from their display windows as a precaution. Television images showed looted outlets including sportswear chains Decathlon and Arc’teryx and telecoms firm Vodafone. Antonio Tajani, foreign minister and deputy premier, declared after Meloni convened top security officials on Monday: “The government will respond firmly to these attacks on the state, including through measures aimed at curbing violence by minors.”

Election-year crackdown widens

With a national vote due next year, the coalition is also said to be preparing stiffer penalties for road blockades, after truckers in southern Italy staged days of protests over fuel costs. Meanwhile, Milan authorities are preparing for another round of demonstrations on Saturday, organised by a newly formed online movement called 17 October. The group pledged to rally in the city and other major Italian centres every Saturday afternoon “until this government of thieves collapses”. It stated: “You are the violent ones. You, who denied us a future. Now, we are claiming that future ourselves.” Opposition figures frequently charge the government with exploiting security for political messaging, contending that ministers do little to tackle fundamental problems such as schooling, housing and conditions in disadvantaged areas. Weekend cost-of-living demonstrations also produced friction in other northern cities — Bologna, Brescia, Bergamo and Turin — where police arrested 28 protesters. The turmoil mirrored events in neighbouring France, where hundreds of thousands marched Saturday against rising prices and deteriorating public services in some of the country’s worst violence in years.