Italy plans 500-troop deployment to Milan after weekend unrest

Milan, Italy. Italy will send 500 additional soldiers to Milan following two days of disorder involving confrontations between protesters and police, looting and property damage, Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini announced on Monday. The deployment is expected to form part of security proposals due for cabinet approval at a meeting anticipated on Tuesday.

Government prepares security response

Salvini, who leads the right-wing League party in the governing coalition, announced the reinforcements on social media, presenting them as a move to protect Milan.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni denounced the violence and convened ministers and security chiefs on Monday to review the situation. She faces a national election next year.

Writing on X, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who, like Salvini, also holds the post of deputy prime minister, said the government would take firm action against what he described as attacks on the state. He said the response would include measures to curb violence involving minors.

According to Corriere della Sera, Meloni was weighing longer preventive detention for minors and tougher action against youth gangs. The newspaper reported that she could accelerate selected provisions from a security bill already under parliamentary examination.

Peaceful protest followed by looting

The weekend unrest followed a demonstration on Saturday against inadequate public services and increasing costs. The protest began peacefully, but several hundred hooded demonstrators subsequently burned bins and looted businesses in central Milan. Many of those involved were believed to be minors.

Television footage showed that outlets belonging to sports retailers Decathlon and Arc’teryx, along with mobile operator Vodafone, were among those ransacked.

Retailers secure premises

Businesses in central Milan, Italy’s financial capital, shut earlier than usual on Monday and boarded their windows amid fears of renewed violence.

Along Via Montenapoleone, a luxury retail district with brands such as Chanel, Tiffany and Dior, most shops had cleared their window displays as a precaution. Police patrolled the street as a small number of tourists watched.

Retailers including Levi’s, Under Armour and Decathlon used cardboard and wooden panels to cover their shop windows.