Meloni Sends 500 Soldiers to Milan Ahead of New Protests

The Italian government has deployed 500 soldiers to Milan to secure the city ahead of new demonstrations scheduled for Saturday. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s administration announced the measure after last weekend’s protests in the financial hub turned violent. The new round of marches, organized by a coalition including the recently formed October 17 Movement, student groups, and trade unions, will take place in eight cities. Protesters are targeting the cost of living and what they describe as an authoritarian approach by the right-wing government.

Tensions escalated in the week following the initial clashes. Police conducted raids in multiple cities on Friday, targeting suspects involved in looting and rioting. On Saturday morning, officers performed another 150 searches in the northern region of Lombardy. Authorities also moved to identify the digital leadership of the movement. Police questioned the administrator of the group’s Instagram page, a 30-year-old freelance journalist and researcher of Italian-Moroccan descent. According to the Corriere della Sera, he faces an investigation on suspicion of inciting crimes.

The scale of the previous unrest was largely driven by young participants. Of the 271 people detained during the demonstrations, 220 were under the age of 18. Lawyer Michele D'Agostino, who defends two of the arrested individuals, noted that a 15-year-old client had joined after seeing the call on TikTok. D'Agostino stated that the teenager did not fully grasp the seriousness of the situation and was not part of the looting group. The public prosecutor has cited social media as a factor in misleading youth into what he termed insurrectional acts. Justice Minister Carlo Nordio told Sky TG24 that the country needs to expand the capacity of its youth detention facilities.

Organizers are keeping the specific locations of Saturday’s marches secret until the final hour. Three meeting points will be announced via social media on the afternoon of the event. The October 17 Movement emphasized the need for calm. A participant identified as E told Al Jazeera, "We must be peaceful. If we give [the police] an excuse, they will charge against us." Another member, identified as Q, added, "It's just us," arguing that there is no real distinction between violent and peaceful demonstrators. The group stated on Instagram, "Those who deny our future are truly violent."

The protests coincide with a separate labor dispute in the south. Truck drivers established roadblocks in several southern regions earlier in the week to protest high fuel prices. The disruptions left many markets without supplies for several days. In response, the government granted tax breaks and established a special fund for farmers and fishermen on Thursday. The new demonstrations in Milan and the other seven cities will mark the first major test of security policy since the government announced its new measures.