Italy Sends 500 Troops to Milan and Creates New Protest Offense After Weekend Riots

Italy's government will deploy 500 soldiers to Milan and has approved a decree creating a new criminal offense of violent participation in a demonstration, after weekend protests over the cost of living turned into clashes with police, vandalism and looting, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Tuesday.

"We have all seen the images of the violence that shook Milan and other Italian cities over the weekend—shops looted, storefronts destroyed, and law enforcement officers attacked," Meloni said in a video released after a cabinet meeting, according to the Italian news agency ANSA. "These are unacceptable scenes that no one should attempt to downplay or justify."

The weekend unrest

Police in Milan detained 271 young people after hooded youths set bins on fire, ransacked shops and smashed windows, including in the area around the city's cathedral, on Saturday and Sunday, The Guardian reported. Police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the groups, which were on the fringes of an initially peaceful protest. Of those detained, 32 were arrested, including 23 minors and 13 foreign nationals, police said Monday. A further 28 people were reported to judicial authorities.

Stores ransacked included the sports retailers Decathlon and Arc'teryx and the mobile operator Vodafone, according to footage cited by The Guardian. Many luxury stores in Milan's fashion district stayed closed, and brands including Chanel, Tiffany and Dior removed merchandise from their windows in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II as a precaution. Protests over the cost of living also turned tense in Bologna, Brescia, Bergamo and Turin, where police said 28 protesters were arrested.

The decree

Under the new offense, anyone who joins a group of five or more people during a march or demonstration and throws stones, firecrackers or sticks, endangering others, faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to 20,000 euros, Meloni said. Penalties increase if the person's face was covered, if someone was injured, or for acts of destruction carried out as part of a group.

Justice Minister Carlo Nordio said a separate offense, punishable by four to 12 years in prison, will apply to anyone who promotes the formation of a group for such violent demonstrations, including through digital or online tools, ANSA reported.

Meloni described a principle of "if you break it, you pay for it—and if the person who breaks it is a minor, their parents pay." For damage to public property such as bus shelters, traffic lights or police vehicles, the local prefect will send a payment order to the person's home. For private property such as shop windows or cars, owners can obtain an immediately enforceable court order. Meloni said the orders could be challenged but that parents would have to pay in the meantime.

The decree also extends preventive detention of known or suspected troublemakers ahead of problematic demonstrations to minors, and makes pretrial detention, previously limited to adults, applicable to minors. It puts into immediate effect a provision, already before Parliament, presuming that 14- to 18-year-olds are capable of understanding their actions unless proven otherwise.

The troops

The additional soldiers will be stationed in Milan through the end of the year. According to Il Sole 24 Ore, they will not have judicial police powers: they will be able to identify troublemakers but not arrest them.

"The government will respond firmly to these attacks on the state, including through measures aimed at curbing violence by minors," Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani said after Meloni chaired a meeting with top security officials Monday, The Guardian reported.

More protests planned

A new movement calling itself 17 October has said on social media that it will organize demonstrations in Milan and other Italian cities every Saturday afternoon "until this government of thieves collapses," according to The Guardian. Opposition politicians often accuse the government of using security as a propaganda tool while doing little on education, housing and living conditions in marginalized areas. Meloni's coalition faces a general election next year.

Italy's unrest is part of a wider wave of cost-of-living protests in Europe. In France, where nearly 2,400 people were arrested during last weekend's riots, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said some military forces would be deployed during protests planned for Saturday, and partial curfews were imposed in several cities including Paris. Thousands also rallied over housing costs in Lisbon on Tuesday after police dismantled protest camps and arrested 55 people, and anti-government protests continued in Albania's capital, Tirana.