Rome: Rioters clashed with police, looted stores and set property on fire in central Milan on Saturday (October 17), emptying Piazza del Duomo and the luxury shopping arcade Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, areas that would usually be teeming with shoppers and tourists.
The march against wars and rising living costs began peacefully, but masked protesters later threw stones, paving blocks and other objects at riot police and set fire to barricades made from bar tables. Police in riot gear attempted to clear hooded protesters from the shopping arcade, which is located beside the cathedral square.
Police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse the crowds. At least two police officers were injured, while about 50 demonstrators, including many minors, were detained, the LaPresse news agency reported. Several people were also reported injured, and a number of arrests were made, according to media reports. Images of the aftermath showed a severely damaged carabinieri car. Shops pulled down their shutters, tourists fled the central area, and the central Duomo metro station was closed during the clashes.
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni condemned the violence in a social media post.
“Demonstrating is a right. Setting our cities ablaze is not,” she wrote, citing “hooligans who exploit demonstrations to sow chaos, attack those responsible for ensuring security and hold entire cities hostage”.
Milan's centre-left mayor, Giuseppe Sala, said “the reasons for the protests were understandable”.
“The violence against law enforcement and serious damage to the city are not justifiable,” he added.
The unrest coincided with nationwide demonstrations in neighbouring France against rising living costs and in support of high school students' grievances. French police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse violent protesters who joined the rallies.
The clashes in Milan echoed the violence in France, where tens of thousands of people angered by rising costs and declining public services took to the streets on Saturday in some of the country's most violent protests in years.
(With inputs from agencies)
