The Italian government has sent hundreds of soldiers to the country’s financial hub before anticipated unrest.
Milan, Italy – Protests have been called in eight Italian cities on Saturday to demonstrate against Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing government and the rising cost of living, a week after demonstrations in Milan spiralled into clashes with police and looting.
It follows the announcement online of a new round of protests by a newly formed group calling itself the ‘October 17 Movement’, which has been the main driver of demonstrations alongside student federations, grassroots trade unions, and antiwar coalitions.
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“Those who deny our future are truly violent,” it said on Instagram. “We distrust this government because we see it as authoritarian.”
In response to last weekend’s looting, the government announced a series of new security measures, including the deployment of 500 soldiers to Italy’s financial hub.
On Friday, police carried out raids and searches in several cities, against people suspected of taking part in looting and rioting in last weekend’s protests, the Italian news agency Adnkronos reported. Officers conducted another 150 raids on Saturday morning in the northern region of Lombardy.
But on its Telegram channel, the October 17 Movement said many of those planning to demonstrate wanted to voice their dissent peacefully.
“We must be peaceful. If we give [the police] an excuse, they will charge against us,” a participant identified as E said on Thursday.
Others have stressed that there is no distinction between those who engage in violence and peaceful protesters. “It’s just us,” said a member identified as Q.
Protesters decided to keep the location of the demonstration secret until the last minute. Three meeting points were expected to be announced on their social media accounts on Saturday afternoon.
In the meantime, police confirmed to Al Jazeera that they had located and were questioning the administrator of the group’s Instagram page. According to the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, he is a 30-year-old Italian-Moroccan freelance journalist and researcher. He is currently under investigation on suspicion of “inciting crimes”.
Most of the protesters arrested on Sunday were very young. Of the 271 people arrested, 220 were under the age of 18.
Some joined the protests after being unexpectedly added to a Telegram group, Corriere della Sera reported.
“They said that they would raise chaos and we could take a lot of goods,” one of them said.
Lawyer Michele D’Agostino is defending two demonstrators, aged 21 and 15.
“[The youngest one] didn’t even know the reasons behind the protest; he had just seen it on TikTok and decided to check it out with a friend,” D’Agostino told Al Jazeera.
“He was not among the looters, but he did not realise the seriousness of what was happening,” he said.
The public prosecutor has blamed social media for misleading young people into taking part in what he described as “insurrectional acts”.
Meanwhile, Justice Minister Carlo Nordio told Sky TG24 that there was a need to “expand the capacity of our youth detention facilities” in response to the mass arrests of people under the age of 18.
Earlier this week, truck drivers set up roadblocks in several regions of southern Italy to protest soaring fuel prices, leaving many markets without supplies for days. On Thursday, the government sought to offer them some relief by granting tax breaks and establishing a special fund for farmers and fishermen.