Meloni condemns 'urban warfare' as cost-of-living protests turn violent in Milan and Bologna
Cost-of-living protests turned violent in Milan and Bologna on Saturday, with police firing tear gas and using water cannon; Giorgia Meloni condemned the unrest, saying peaceful demonstration is a right but cities must not become battlegrounds.
Italian police fired tear gas in Milan on Saturday after coming under attack from protesters throwing stones in the square in front of the city’s Gothic cathedral, while officers in Bologna used a water cannon to disperse crowds as nationwide cost-of-living protests turned violent, Reuters reported via Arab News.
In Milan, riot police cleared hooded protesters from the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, the luxury shopping arcade beside the cathedral square, as groups broke away from the main demonstration. Shops pulled down their shutters, tourists fled the central area, and the Duomo metro station was closed, with several people reported injured.
In Bologna, police made seven arrests after the protest became violent, the ANSA news agency reported.
More than 5,000 people joined the student-led mobilisation in Milan alone, called to protest soaring inflation, low wages, underfunded public healthcare and deteriorating schools, according to ANI, citing Italian broadcaster Rai News, which described scenes in Piazza Duomo as “urban warfare”. Around 12 people were hospitalised and about 50 detained in Milan; in Bologna, disorders led to the precautionary closure of the railway station, while in Turin people were stopped carrying cobblestones and window-breaking hammers.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the violence in a post on X: “Demonstrating is a right. Turning our cities into battlegrounds is not.”
The unrest echoed Saturday’s protests in France, where the interior minister said around 550,000 people took part, according to France 24.
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