Italy plans tougher security measures after violent protests

More than 200 people were arrested across the weekend, according to Italian media

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is poised to approve emergency security measures, according to local media, after protests over rising costs broke out into violent clashes in Milan.

The measures include extending preventative detention to minors and restricting group gatherings, Milanese paper Corriere della Sera reported.

Police deployed tear gas and water cannons after protesters - many in masks - threw paving stones, bins and chairs at officers over the weekend. More than 250 people were detained, 80% of whom were minors, Italian police said.

The expected crackdown comes after Meloni chaired an emergency security meeting on Monday afternoon. No official announcements have been made.

More than 5,000 people gathered in Milan over the weekend. As well as clashes between police and some protesters, stores were looted and property was set on fire.

High-end shops in the city's centre closed early on Monday, with many boarding up their windows over fears of further damage.

Measures to crack down on youth gangs are expected to be approved as early as Tuesday as part of a decree law, according to Corriere della Sera.

Local media reports suggest social media was used to invite young people to Italy's squares over the weekend.

Rioting and violence have broken out on the sidelines of mostly peaceful youth-led protests in other European countries including France, Spain and Albania, in recent weeks.

Milanese Mayor Giuseppe Sala said he was worried this represented a "new phenomenon" that "originates from an international scenario and therefore feeds itself".

Speaking to Ansa, he said he witnessed "smashed shop windows, looted stores, and frightened citizens", adding that "what happened here is what we are seeing in many cities around the world".

Of the 271 people taken to police stations on Sunday, 32 were arrested, including 23 minors, police said on Monday. A further 28 people were reported to judicial authorities.

Italian media reported that people - including police officers - were injured.

Violence between protesters and police also spread to other cities in the north.

Meloni said people in Turin were detained while "carrying cobblestones and window-breaking hammers", while a train station in Bologna was closed as a precaution after similar disorder.

"To demonstrate is a right. To lay our cities to waste is not," Meloni said on Saturday, adding that "hooligans" had exploited the protests to "sow chaos".

The prime minister - who is facing an election next year - also called on her political opponents to condemn the rioting.

"Do not be ambiguous about this," she said in a post on X, explaining that condemnation must be "unanimous" because "any hesitation becomes justification".

Democratic Party leader Elly Schlein said her party had always condemned violence and that the rioting should not be used to stifle the voices of peaceful protesters across the country who are struggling to make a living, Ansa reported.

The violent disorder followed anti-government protests held by students in various Italian cities on Friday, and echoed similar unrest in neighbouring France, where hundreds of thousands took to the streets.

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