Over the weekend, Milan, Italy experienced consecutive days of unrest on October 17th and 18th as demonstrators clashed with the police, looted stores, and vandalized property. On Monday, October 19th, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini announced that the government would be deploying 500 troops to “defend Milan.” Stores in the city center have started closing early and boarding up their windows in anticipation of potential violence erupting again.
Salvini, who is a member of the ruling coalition and the leader of the right-wing party Lega (League), made the decision to send troops in response to the escalating situation. He wrote on social media, “Words into action: sending another 500 soldiers to defend Milan.” The deployment of troops will be part of a series of security measures with related legislation expected to be formally approved during the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, October 20th.
Luxury brands like Chanel, Tiffany, and Dior in the upscale shopping district of Via Montenapoleone have already taken down their displays and many other stores have preemptively shut their doors and secured their windows with wooden boards for safety reasons. There are only a few tourists lingering in the area as police continue patrolling the streets to prevent any further outbreaks of violence.
Last Saturday’s protest in Milan, originally organized to voice concerns about the declining quality of public services and rising living costs, quickly turned violent. Over the weekend, hundreds of masked demonstrators set fires to trash cans, looted shops, with many believed to be minors.
Decathlon, Arc’teryx, Vodafone, and other stores were targeted during the looting spree, prompting brands like Levi’s, Under Armour, and Decathlon to board up their windows with cardboard and wood panels for protection.
Italian authorities confirmed that 271 individuals, including 23 minors and 13 foreign nationals, were detained during the unrest in Milan on Sunday. In addition, 28 people were handed over to the judicial authorities for further action.
Similar clashes erupted in other northern Italian cities including Bologna, Brescia, Bergamo, and Turin over the weekend, resulting in the arrest of 28 demonstrators. These incidents mirror the tumultuous situation in neighboring France where widespread protests due to rising living costs, declining public services, and unequal distribution of resources have gripped the country.
Multiple media outlets and the French government have revealed that what began as peaceful demonstrations in France escalated into violent acts of looting, attacking police officers, and setting fires due to the involvement and provocation of several far-left groups. French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu blamed extreme left-wing factions for orchestrating violence in various cities and exploiting the situation for looting and urban destruction.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the violent acts and led a meeting with ministers and security officials on Monday to discuss the current situation. The government decided to bolster the ongoing “Strade Sicure” (Safe Streets) operation across the nation with the deployment of an additional 500 soldiers specifically for Milan. Meloni will be facing a national election next year in 2027.
Another Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, criticized the violence on the social platform X, emphasizing that the government will firmly respond to attacks against the country, including taking action to curb violent behavior among minors.
According to an article by the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, as part of the crackdown, Meloni is considering extending preventive detention for minors and cracking down on youth gangs as a part of their law enforcement initiatives. This would mean the early implementation of certain provisions of a security bill currently under parliamentary review.