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After France, protests spread to Italy as clashes erupt outside Milan’s Duomo
The wave of protests in France has spread to Italy. A cost-of-living march in Milan turned into clashes outside the Duomo; barricades were set alight, stores looted, and about 50 people detained.
The wave of protests that shook France spread to Italy on Saturday. In Milan, a march against the rising cost of living turned into clashes with police in front of the Duomo, the city’s landmark cathedral. Protesters set barricades on fire and looted stores, and police responded with tear gas and water cannon.
More than 5,000 people joined the “Italia in piazza” (Italy in the square) march against the cost of living and wars. Unauthorized groups joined the march, which began peacefully, and police stopped and split the procession near Via Broletto in the early afternoon.
Piazza del Duomo becomes a battlefield
Groups made up mostly of young people dressed in black, carrying no flags or political symbols, threw stones, firecrackers, barriers and other objects at police. Officers responded with water cannon, tear gas and charges across Piazza del Duomo, Corso Vittorio Emanuele, Piazza San Babila and Via Mazzini. The Duomo metro station was closed during the clashes.
Protesters set fire to barricades built from bar tables and to a construction site. Flames rising in front of the cathedral were among the most striking images of the day.
Scuffles also broke out in side streets, where groups marching with Italian flags and flares faced off with police.
Stores looted
The window of a Foot Locker store was smashed and the shop looted, while the Nike store on Corso Vittorio Emanuele and La Rinascente were damaged. Police charged after about 100 young people caused disorder in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, home to luxury boutiques, and shops pulled down their shutters. A Carabinieri vehicle was vandalized and looted, and bus shelters and upper-floor windows of historic buildings were damaged.
At night, burning barricades, overturned barriers and scattered stones littered Piazza del Duomo.
Injuries and arrests
About 50 protesters, many of them minors, were detained, according to the LaPresse news agency. Domenico Pianese, general secretary of the police union Coisp, said two officers were injured and at least 40 protesters detained. Several demonstrators and a female photographer were also injured.
Meloni: torching cities is not a right
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said: “Demonstrating is a right. Setting our cities ablaze is not.” Milan’s center-left mayor, Giuseppe Sala, said the reasons for the protests were “understandable.”
Unrest in Bologna and Turin
In Bologna, clashes broke out near the train station; protesters threw stones, police used water cannon and tear gas, and dozens of shared bicycles were knocked over. In Turin, young people threw stones and bottles at police guarding Porta Nuova station, and police responded with tear gas.
The unrest in Italy coincided with violent protests in France the same day, where hundreds of thousands marched against the cost of living. Earlier this week, students in Italy threw flares at the Education Ministry in Rome, and police intervened against students occupying schools in Turin. Student protests continued in Albania, and clashes also broke out in Brussels on Saturday.
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