Italy: Meloni sends 500 more soldiers to Milan

As in France, demonstrators and police clashed during violent protests in Milan - the government in Rome has now announced that it will send 500 more soldiers to the Italian city.

The decision was made at an emergency meeting chaired by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, as it was called. The government announced a corresponding decree. The additional military is intended to prevent new riots from breaking out in Milan's city center.

In Milan, serious riots broke out over the weekend after initially peaceful protests against high costs of living and various government legislative plans. On Cathedral Square and its surroundings, young people mostly dressed in black and wearing masks broke shop windows and looted shops and supermarkets. In total, there were more than 270 temporary arrests, most of which were against minors. Five young people were taken into custody.

The inflation rate in Italy is currently 4.2 percent. Many draw comparisons to the unrest in France. According to official information, at least 14 security guards were injured in Milan. The public prosecutor there spoke of a level of “rare violence”. There was no exact 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 and her party Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy) have been under pressure for some time from a new, even further right-wing party called Futuro Nazionale (National Future). In the left-wing camp, the chairwoman of the social democratic party PD, Elly Schlein, wants to run against Meloni.