Police stopped more than 200 people in Milan on Sunday as unrest around Piazza del Duomo extended into a second day, according to an Interior Ministry account reported by ANSA.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in an Instagram post that she had called a public-order meeting for Monday, Oct. 19, at Palazzo Chigi. She said she would consider further measures in response to violence linked to demonstrations she described as legitimate.
ANSA reported that 160 people had been taken to police headquarters for identification by 1 p.m. ET (17:00 UTC). A separate Interior Ministry account reported by ANSA said about 80% of the more than 200 people stopped were minors. The later count of more than 200 refers to people stopped; it does not establish how many were formally arrested.
The Saturday march was part of the wider Italia in Piazza movement. Corriere della Sera reported that organizers cited living costs, fuel prices, wages, taxes and public services among the movement's concerns. The Associated Press (AP) reported that masked protesters later threw stones and paving blocks and set barriers on fire during the initially peaceful march; police used tear gas and water cannons.
On Sunday, shops were again damaged and looted, and police used tear gas and water cannons, ANSA and Spain's EFE news agency reported. In her Instagram post, Meloni wrote, “Demonstrating is a right. Setting our cities ablaze is not.” Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala told AP the reasons for the protests were “understandable.”
Meloni's public-order meeting is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 19.
