Meloni plans emergency security meeting after violent Milan protests
Italy’s prime minister is set to discuss security after cost-of-living demonstrations in Milan turned violent over the weekend, BBC News reported.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is set to hold an emergency security meeting after cost-of-living protests in Milan turned violent on October 17 and 18, BBC News reported on Monday, October 19. The planned meeting follows clashes between police and protesters in the northern Italian city; the BBC did not give a time for it.
More than 5,000 people gathered in Milan over the weekend, according to the BBC. Clashes began on Saturday and continued on Sunday. Police used tear gas and water cannons after protesters, many wearing masks, threw paving stones, bins and chairs at officers, the broadcaster reported.
Detentions and injuries in Milan
More than 200 people were detained across the weekend, 80% of them minors, the BBC reported, citing Italian news agency Ansa. Milan prosecutors have requested prison sentences for five adults arrested on suspicion of looting, vandalism and resisting arrest, according to the BBC’s account of a report by Italian agency AGI. Those requests are not court verdicts.
Deutsche Welle reported that at least four police officers and 20 demonstrators were injured in Milan. Italian media also reported injuries among protesters and police, according to the BBC. The reports give different levels of detail about casualties, and the BBC did not provide an injury total.
Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala described smashed shop windows, looted stores and frightened residents in comments to Ansa reported by the BBC. Sala said he had witnessed the damage himself. Meloni said on Saturday that demonstrating was a right, but laying cities to waste was not, and accused people she called ‘hooligans’ of exploiting the protests to sow chaos.
Why the protests spread beyond Milan
The demonstrations reflected anger over high living costs and low wages. Deutsche Welle reported that expensive fuel and a shortage of affordable housing were among the pressures facing households. In Rome, thousands joined a separate demonstration organised by the Italian General Confederation of Labour, or CGIL. Its leader, Maurizio Landini, announced a general strike for November 20, Deutsche Welle reported.
Disorder also affected other northern cities. Meloni said people detained in Turin had been carrying cobblestones and hammers used to break windows, according to the BBC. Bologna’s train station closed as a precaution after unrest, the broadcaster reported. Deutsche Welle said police in Bologna used water cannon and arrested four minors, while seven people were reported to prosecutors.
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Sources and context
- Meloni holds emergency meeting after violent clashes in MilanBBC News
- Meloni backs police after cost-of-living protests turn violent in Italian citiesDeutsche Welle
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.