Piantedosi: '500 soldiers in Milan will have full mobility'. Sala: 'Now control and repression'

The 500 soldiers sent to Milan "will have maximum mobility in the area, as already happens" in other cities such as Rome, and with the mayor Giuseppe Sala "there was maximum sharing". This was said by the Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosi at the end of the Committee for public order and safety in the prefecture in Milan.

What happened in Milan over the weekend with violence and looting by very young people, Piantedosi observed, is "a new and complex phenomenon that must be addressed in a new way". The minister explained that in view of Saturday, prevention by the police is essential, "prevention which is already in place".

"I want to say without ambiguity that first of all in this critical phase comes the control and repression of these phenomena", commented the mayor of Milan Giuseppe Sala. "I don't want to risk being ambiguous - he added -, I'm not at all against the fact that 500 soldiers arrive, they will also have a dynamic role". Humanly speaking, there is a part that must be one of repression and control - he concluded - and then we must all try together to understand how to deal with a generational problem that is very evident".

"I don't regret, as I told all my colleagues, having said that in my opinion there were few police forces on the field, but it's not an accusation, it's an observation", added Sala, explaining that "in my role, in my style, I don't hesitate in provocation, it was just an observation".

For Saturday in Milan "there is concern because the issue is that it is feared that there will be someone in the square who resembles those who were in the square over the weekend, someone who will fight this presence and then anarchists", he explained. "So Saturday could be a delicate day for the city. I don't want to invite citizens and say 'everyone stay home', but Saturday could be a delicate day." Furthermore "it will be the first test to understand if we will be able to manage things differently", he concluded.

"The message that must pass is that nothing will go unpunished and whoever breaks it pays", said the Minister for Infrastructure, Matteo Salvini at the end of the meeting, explaining that "500 paratroopers are ready, structured, who will support the police" and underlining that what happened in Milan but also in other cities "has nothing to do with the inconvenience because they stole shoes and clothes...". Hence the desire to make "distracted parents" of children who "instead of being at school were in the streets smashing everything" pay for the damages,

The meeting of the provincial committee for public order and safety took place after the clashes and vandalism that occurred in the city center on Saturday and Sunday. The summit was attended by, in addition to the prefect Claudio Sgaraglia, the Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosi, the police chief Vittorio Pisani, the top brass of the police forces, and the mayor Giuseppe Sala himself.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Matteo Salvini also arrived in the prefecture to participate in the meeting.

Also at the table were the chief prosecutor of Milan Marcello Viola, the public prosecutor at the Juvenile Court, Luca Villa, the police commissioner Bruno Megale, the commander of the local police of Milan Gianluca Mirabelli, the commander of 'Strade Sicure' Francesco Lamura. After the weekend's vandalism, the Interior Minister has already announced that he will send 500 soldiers to the city.