Clashes after cost-of-living protests in Milan, Turin and Bologna

The protests against the cost of living, organised under the banner “Italia in Piazza”, ended with moments of tension in several Italian cities. In Milan, clashes broke out at the end of the march, when groups of hooded youths confronted law enforcement in the area between Piazza Duomo, Cordusio and San Babila. Episodes of tension were also recorded in Turin and Bologna, as part of a mobilisation that mainly involved students and young people.

According to the agencies that followed the events, around fifty protesters were detained in Milan, nearly half of whom were minors. This publication’s editorial policy requires that minors involved not be made identifiable: no details are therefore reported that would allow their identity, exact age or origin to be traced.

In Bologna the heaviest toll concerns law enforcement: at least 40 officers were injured in the clashes that accompanied the end of the city’s march. This figure currently comes from news agency accounts; no official tallies have yet been released by local authorities or the police headquarters of the three cities, nor is there yet a national total of detentions and injuries.

The “Italia in Piazza” demonstrations arose as a mobilisation on the issue of the cost of living, with marches crossing the centre of several cities. It was in the final stages, when the official march coordinators had already dispersed, that the most significant episodes of violence occurred, with groups splitting off from the main body of the demonstration and clashing with police.

It remains to be seen, in the coming hours, whether the authorities will provide a consolidated, single tally of detentions, identifications and injuries in the three cities, and whether proceedings will be opened against those who took part in the clashes. This publication does not follow the judicial developments of individual cases, in line with the suspension of crime and court reporting currently in effect, but will continue to report on public order aspects and official figures once released by the competent authorities.

At present, the only figures available are those reported by the news agencies: around fifty detained in Milan, nearly half of them minors, and at least 40 officers injured in Bologna. There are, as of now, no direct institutional confirmations from prefectures or police headquarters regarding the overall totals for the three cities.