The city of Milan, scene of urban violence and looting on the sidelines of demonstrations against the high cost of living on Saturday and Sunday

It is not only in France that a social protest movement was accompanied by violence and damage this weekend.

Several large cities in northern Italy were the scene of scenes of chaos on Saturday October 17 and Sunday October 18: Bologna, Turin and especially Milan. The Lombard city has seen its historic center ravaged and Milanese police have arrested more than 200 people since Saturday, according to the Ansa news agency.

Claiming to be inspired by France, Italians were called to demonstrate against the high cost of living on Saturday at the initiative of the Italia in Piazza movement, reinforced by unions such as the powerful CGIL, the Italian equivalent of the CGT.

In Milan, police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse violent groups in the square where its famous cathedral, the Duomo, is located. Videos show young people, mostly men and most masked, throwing objects at police cars.

Giuseppe Sala, the mayor of Milan, linked the violence of the movement to identical scenes seen in France and Belgium, in particular.

On Sunday, the center-left elected official said he was "very worried because this is a new phenomenon, which also has its origins in an international context and therefore feeds on itself." He also pointed out the under-dimensioning of the police force, which was quickly overwhelmed.

Matteo Piantedosi, the Minister of the Interior in Giorgia Meloni's far-right government, responded to him on X, rejecting these criticisms and denouncing "a chic radical left which fails to condemn the most violent without reservation".

Looters under the age of 14

Giorgia Meloni, who will put her mandate back on the line during the legislative elections next year, reacted on Saturday evening in a series of posts on the X network.

She speaks of "thugs who exploit protests to sow chaos, attack those who guarantee security and take entire cities hostage. Protesting is a right. Setting fire to our cities is not."