Meloni Backs Police After Milan Cost-of-Living Protest Clashes
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned violence during protests over the cost of living and voiced support for law enforcement. Clashes in Milan…
Violence in Milan followed protests over the rising cost of living. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned what she called “gangs of thugs” and backed law enforcement after clashes in several Italian cities.
Police and protesters clashed on October 17 in the square outside Milan’s historic Cathedral, where officers used water cannons to disperse the crowd. Stores were looted and windows smashed inside the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, according to the source report.
The Associated Press, quoting the LaPresse news agency, reported that 50 demonstrators, including minors, were detained and at least two police officers were hurt. The unrest also forced the interruption of the procession, Meloni said.
In a Sunday morning post on X, Meloni said law enforcement officers had faced violence from people exploiting demonstrations to provoke confrontations and sow chaos. She said officers were protecting residents, workers and merchants.
“We stand with you,” Meloni wrote.
Meloni calls for peaceful demonstrations
The prime minister had also condemned violence on Saturday night, while distinguishing it from peaceful protest. “Demonstrating is a right. Setting our cities ablaze is not,” she wrote.
Meloni said she had “great respect for the thousands” who protested peacefully, describing participation as “the foundation of any healthy democracy.” She also urged opposition parties to condemn violent acts and call for peaceful mobilizations.
The demonstrations were organized by the Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro, or CGIL. The source describes the union as Italy’s oldest labor union, with over 5 million members, and says it is often connected to left-wing political parties.
The protest demands, as described in the report, included better living and working conditions amid rising living costs, low wages, high rents and shortcomings in public services. The Milan damage gives the unrest a direct local cost: businesses faced looting and broken windows, while police had to respond with water cannons and officers were injured.
Meloni also cited incidents in Turin and Bologna. She said people in Turin were stopped carrying cobblestones and window-breaking hammers. The source text ends before giving further details about Bologna.
Francesco Filini, a lawmaker from Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia party and its national program coordinator, said organized destruction had become intolerable. “We are not dealing with mere demonstrators, but with organized groups that plan violence,” he was quoted as saying by Il Sole 24.
At least two police officers were hurt in the Milan protest, according to the Associated Press report cited by Fox News.
Source: foxnews.com
