The key facts
- More than 200 arrested in Milan since Saturday (according to Ansa)
- Police used tear gas and water cannons near the Duomo square
- Similar riots in Bologna and Turin; Meloni called a meeting for Monday
Second day of clashes in Milan
On Sunday in Milan, young people and police clashed for the second day in a row. According to the Ansa news agency, more than 200 people have been arrested since Saturday. The riots began on Saturday on the margins of an authorised demonstration against the cost of living. As Euronews reports, citing the agency, mostly people dressed in black threw bottles, looted shops and destroyed property around the central Duomo square.
Police action and damage
On Sunday, police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse groups on the square. Video footage showed young people, many wearing masks, throwing objects at police vehicles. According to Euronews, a supermarket on the shopping street leading away from the Duomo square was looted, rubbish bins were overturned, and scooters and bicycles were vandalised.
Authorities' response
Milan's mayor Giuseppe Sala told Ansa he had seen 'smashed shop windows, looted shops and frightened residents'. In his words, 'what happened here we are seeing in many cities around the world', and he is 'very concerned because it is a new phenomenon that also comes from the international context and therefore feeds on itself'. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called a security meeting for Monday in connection with the riots, which Euronews assessed as reminiscent of scenes of chaos and looting in Paris. On Saturday, Meloni called the vandals 'thugs who use demonstrations to sow chaos, attack those who guarantee security and hold entire cities hostage'. 'Demonstrating is a right. Destroying our cities is not,' she wrote on X.
Other cities
Similar incidents, according to Euronews, occurred in the northern cities of Bologna and Turin after other protest events.
