Journalist Martina Miccichè was struck in the face by a flying object while filming police officers beating a teenager with batons in Piazza del Duomo, the central square of Milan. She described Saturday's protest as peaceful until police blocked access to a nearby street, triggering a violent escalation. "People were angry because they were being repressed," she said, adding that police began grabbing people at random and using batons and teargas.
As clashes intensified, masked youths on the fringes moved into the fashion district, tearing down signs, setting bins alight, and smashing and looting shops including Footlocker and Levi's. The vandalism resumed on Sunday, with many participants drawn from marginalised outskirts via social media. Over the two days police detained more than 271 young people, arresting 32, including 23 minors and 13 foreign nationals.
The Meloni government swiftly enacted measures targeting minors and empowering police, including making parents financially liable for their children's vandalism. It also criminalised violent participation in demonstrations and toughened penalties for rioters. The security crackdown has been extended to truck drivers protesting high petrol prices in southern Italy, where 71 people have been reported to judicial authorities and 242 fined for road blockades.
Domenico Ricci and Luca Orlando, who run a bar in the Barona housing estate, said the vandalism was a symptom of years of feeling unheard. "When an opportunity arises, these kids take revenge. They don't do it simply because they want to steal something," said Orlando. "All this government does is introduce new crimes – they never listen."
Eighteen-year-old Thomas, who is training to be a chef in Barona, said he sees no future in Italy and wants to leave as soon as possible. His friend Mohamed, an Italian citizen of Moroccan origin, said the more the government fails to listen, the angrier people become.
Mauro Magatti, a sociologist at Milan's Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, warned that excessive repression risked enlarging the protest. "Violence always needs to be condemned but now we need to lower the tone to overcome this burst of anger and focus on addressing the real problems," he said.
Police and military presence in central Milan has been building ahead of another protest planned for Saturday, organised by a new online movement that has pledged to gather each weekend "until this government of thieves falls". Miccichè warned politicians must listen, as the protests will intensify before general elections next year. "There is no perception at all of how young people feel," she said. "Even if they took just a minute to listen, they will understand that it is a generation full of ideas – they just want to be heard."