ROME: Italy on Tuesday approved the deployment of 500 troops to Milan after violent clashes as fuel price protests hit pasta production and food deliveries in southern Italy.
Some luxury brands have kept their shops shut in the centre of Italy's fashion hub after looting and riots over the weekend by groups of mostly young protesters.
A cabinet meeting on Tuesday also approved a series of security measures, including making the detention of minors easier and introducing the crime of "violent participation in a demonstration".
The government also agreed to impose fines on parents for damage carried out by their children during demonstrations.
But the cabinet did not approve soldiers being given policing powers as expected following opposition from president Sergio Mattarella, Italian media reported.
"Destroying and stealing is not protest, it is crime, and the state's response must be firm," Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a video on X after the cabinet talks.
Meloni said nearly 200 police officers had been injured and 330 people had been detained, of whom half were of "foreign origin" -- either born abroad or born in Italy to foreign-born parents.
Hard-right leader Meloni faces elections next year in which the state of the economy, security and immigration are likely to be the key issues.
Pasta production hit
Italy has seen a wave of protests in recent days, particularly over the rising cost of living and fuel prices, with high school and university students, farmers and truck drivers taking to the streets.
Truckers have blocked or disrupted traffic across southern Italy, hitting in particular vital food industry supply chains.
Garofalo, one of Italy's leading pasta makers, stopped production on Saturday and resumed operations on Monday at just 40 percent of capacity.
"Our main customers have stocks, but I don't know how long they will last," chief executive Massimo Menna told AFP.
Menna said Garofalo has little room to manoeuvre if the blockades continue. "There's nothing we can do. When everything stops, everything stops."
He said he understood the reasons behind the protests, but feared the impact on poorer households.
"In times of crisis, it's always the least well-off who suffer the most," he said.
Fellow pasta maker Rummo has also suspended production, while another producer, La Molisana, has scaled back operations, with road blockades preventing flour deliveries from reaching factories.
Truck drivers began protesting on Friday against rising fuel costs, which have climbed since the outbreak of war in the Middle East.
The disruption has already left supermarkets in parts of southern Italy short of fresh produce, including cheese, fruit and vegetables.
Transport minister Matteo Salvini met union representatives on Tuesday and promised the release of 480 million euros in funding aimed at addressing the fuel crisis.
But some union representatives said the blockades would continue until concrete measures are taken.