The key facts

  • 28 detained, including 12 minors; 141 injured police officers (Sky TG24)
  • About 5,000 people took part in Milan, 3,000 in Turin, 2,000 in Bologna
  • Confcommercio estimates damage to shops at more than €500,000

Detentions and injured police officers

Italian police detained 28 people, including 12 minors, after clashes during protests against the rising cost of living in a number of cities on Saturday, Sky TG24 reports. According to police, 197 people were identified and taken to police stations, and 43 were handed over to judicial authorities. The total number of injured law enforcement officers was 141. Tension persisted in central Milan on Sunday as well.

Course of the rallies and unrest

The demonstrations, organised by the Italia in Piazza movement, were directed against rising living costs, fuel prices and the tax burden. According to police data, about 5,000 people took part in Milan, 3,000 in Turin, 2,000 in Bologna, 600 in Brescia and 800 in Bergamo. In Milan, groups threw stones, bottles, firecrackers and barriers at police; police used tear gas and water cannons. Around the city centre, shops suffered from pogroms and looting, and a carabinieri vehicle was destroyed. 17 people were detained in Milan. The retailers' association Confcommercio estimated the damage to shops and businesses at more than €500,000 ($561,860). In Turin, an adult was detained for resisting a police officer, along with three minors who allegedly had Molotov cocktails; a group also broke into the Feltrinelli bookstore at Porta Nuova station. In Bologna, five minors were detained after clashes near the railway station, where protesters threw bottles, stones and barriers; police also used tear gas and water cannons.

Authorities' reaction

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed solidarity with law enforcement and called on opposition parties to unambiguously condemn the violence, while acknowledging that thousands of people protested peacefully. Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said his party, the League, would again submit to parliament a proposal obliging organisers of potentially risky demonstrations to provide financial guarantees to cover possible damage. Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala called the protesters' grievances understandable but said violence against police officers and large-scale damage to the city were unjustifiable. Bologna Mayor Matteo Lepore also condemned the riots and urged young people to distance themselves from those who use protests as a pretext for violence.