Italian police detain 50 at Milan cost-of-living protest

Italian police detained 50 people in Milan after a Saturday afternoon cost-of-living march turned into clashes, Euronews reported in an Oct. 18 news article.

The Milan total exceeded the 12 people stopped in Turin and seven detained in Bologna, widening a price-driven protest wave that Atlas360 reported on Oct. 17 had also brought hundreds of arrests in France.

In Milan, the report said, 25 people were injured and taken to hospitals, including 10 police officers. Euronews said none required red-code transport, the highest urgency category in Italy's emergency triage system.

Police in Milan used tear gas, water cannon and hydrants to disperse crowds, according to the report. Euronews said demonstrators used fire extinguishers, firecrackers and fireworks, and threw objects including rubbish bins and barriers.

The report said shops in central Milan were vandalised, a portable toilet was set alight in Piazza Duomo, and the M1 and M3 metro stations were shut. Half of those detained in Milan were minors, Euronews reported.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, referring to a CGIL trade-union demonstration held on Saturday afternoon, said street protest was a right but condemned the violence, according to Euronews. "I renew my request to the opposition: do not be ambiguous on this. Any reticence becomes a justification," Meloni said.

Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala drew a distinction between the motives for the march and the disorder that followed. "The reasons for the protest were understandable. The violence against the police and the serious damage to the city are unjustifiable," Sala said, according to the report.

In Turin, officers stopped 12 people, 10 of them minors, Euronews reported. The report said they were found with petrol bombs, firecrackers, cobblestones and emergency window hammers, and that investigators were assessing the position of some people suspected of causing damage.

In Bologna, the unrest centred on the railway station and Piazza Medaglie d'Oro, where Euronews said hooded youths threw stones and other objects and knocked over dozens of hire bikes. Police used water cannon and tear gas, and seven people were detained pending further examination, the report said.

The Italian incidents followed a broader protest cycle in France. Atlas360 reported on Oct. 17 that French police estimated nearly 200,000 participants nationwide as students, unions and Yellow Vest activists rallied over prices and inequality.

The reported material did not include an official nationwide turnout figure for Italy or a detailed list of charges against those detained. Investigators in Turin and Bologna were reviewing the status of people stopped during the demonstrations, according to Euronews.

Source: news report, Euronews, Oct. 18.