ROME: As in France, violent clashes have broken out in Italy on the fringes of peaceful demonstrations against the high cost of living, German Press Agency (dpa) reported, citing Italian news agency ANSA on Sunday.
The main focus was the northern Italian city of Milan, where black-clad, masked youths pelted police in the central Piazza Duomo (Cathedral Square) with fireworks and bottles and erected barricades, ANSA reported. Police had initially been forced to withdraw and wait for reinforcements.
Clashes, in which stones and fireworks were thrown at police, also occurred in other cities including Turin, Bologna, and Bergamo, according to ANSA.
In Milan alone, at least four policemen and 20 demonstrators were injured and more than 50 young people arrested. Half of them were minors, ANSA reported further.
Right-wing Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the violence.
"Demonstrating is a right, but setting our cities on fire is not," she was quoted as saying.
The left-leaning mayor of the economically powerful city of Milan, Giuseppe Sala, also condemned the riots but expressed understanding for the discontent of many people.
"The reasons for the protest were understandable. The violence against police and the serious damage to the city, however, cannot be justified," he said.
People on low and middle incomes are particularly hard hit by inflation and high petrol and diesel prices, while real wages stagnate. In the big urban centres, there is also a shortage of affordable housing.
– Bernama-dpa
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