Meloni Deploys 500 Soldiers to Milan After Two Nights of Riots Over Cost of Living

Meloni Deploys 500 Soldiers to Milan After Two Nights of Riots Over Cost of Living

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has ordered 500 soldiers to Milan after two nights of street violence turned cost-of-living protests into riots around the city's famous Piazza Duomo. The decision came out of an emergency security meeting at Palazzo Chigi in Rome on Monday, with the Council of Ministers set to approve the troop deployment decree on Tuesday.

The trouble started Saturday on the sidelines of a peaceful demonstration by the Italia in Piazza movement, called over rising living costs, fuel prices, and cuts to public services. But by evening, masked groups were hurling bottles and stones, ransacking shops, setting bins on fire, and looting stores near the Duomo. Police answered with tear gas and water cannon, and the clashes spilled into a second day on Sunday.

Police stopped more than 270 young people on Sunday alone, with dozens arrested. Damage estimates run into the hundreds of millions of euros, and similar unrest was reported in Bologna, Turin, and Brescia. Meloni called the rioters 'thugs who exploit demonstrations,' while Milan's mayor admitted the protesters' economic concerns were 'understandable.'

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