Italy: Meloni sends 500 more soldiers to Milan

Police presence in Milan during protests in recent days

As in France, protesters and police clashed in Milan during violent protests – the government in Rome has now announced the deployment of 500 more soldiers to the Italian city. The decision was made at a crisis meeting chaired by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, it was said. The government announced a decree to this effect. The additional military is intended to prevent new riots in Milan's inner city.

In Italy, a military mission »Strade sicure« has been running since 2008, in which soldiers support the regular police forces in the surveillance of conurbations and endangered properties. There is also talk of curfews in certain areas of the inner cities. Meloni had announced a hard move after the riots in Milan and various other cities.

In Milan, there were serious riots at the weekend after initially peaceful protests against high costs of living and various legal plans of the government. In the cathedral square and its surroundings, mostly black-clad and masked young people beat windows, plundered shops and supermarkets. In total, there were more than 270 temporary arrests, mostly aimed at minors. Five young people were arrested.

The inflation rate in Italy is currently at 4.2 percent. Many draw comparisons to the unrest in France. According to official figures, at least 14 security forces were injured in Milan. The public prosecutor's office there spoke of a degree of "rare violence". There was no precise information on the number of injured demonstrators. The damage is estimated to be in the millions.

Meloni has ruled Rome for four years with a coalition of three right-wing and conservative parties. There will be another parliamentary election next year. The head of government with her party Fratelli d’Italia (brothers of Italy) has been under pressure for some time by a new, even further right-wing party called Futuro Nazionale (National Future). In the left camp, the leader of the social democratic party PD, Elly Schlein, wants to compete against Meloni.