Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government is set to deploy 500 soldiers to Milan after weekend unrest near the Duomo left over 200 police injured and high-end shops looted.
Breitbart reported that Defence Minister Guido Crosetto signed off Monday on the troop increase to back local law enforcement after two days of clashes and looting in the Italian fashion capital.
The Council of Ministers still needs to give final approval Tuesday to a defence decree that would also hand police special powers. The weekend violence centered on Piazza Duomo, home to Italy’s largest church, and left the city counting wounded officers, damaged streets, and early shop closures.
Youths, many from migrant communities in the surrounding suburbs, clashed with police, looted luxury stores, and wrecked public property. Milan Police detained more than 270 people, including 220 minors. Eleven face potential prison terms of up to 15 years.
More than 200 police officers were injured. Cleanup crews from waste firm AMSA rolled out 90 workers and 60 vehicles. Over 280 street trash cans were damaged, including six smart bins. Luxury names including Chanel, Hermès, Gucci, Prada, Saint Laurent, and Versace shut early Monday.
A passerby told Corriere della Sera the scene felt extreme.
"It feels like we’re at war."
Crosetto described the step as an “increase in military personnel to support the police forces in Milan.” The soldiers would help keep rioters from retaking the square again.
Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, a Milanese and leader of the League party, called the decision a victory and moved straight to action language.
"From words to deeds!"
Salvini stressed both the practical need and the message.
"Even symbols make a difference. As a Milanese, I’m disturbed: Milan is a welcoming and international city, and the images of Piazza Duomo on fire have gone around the world."
He said restoring order and keeping the Duomo square clear remain non-negotiable. The unrest was framed in some coverage as having spread from France and as cost-of-living protests that turned violent. An anti-government gathering linked to the Italia in Piazza movement took place at the square.
If the Council of Ministers approves the defence decree, law enforcement would gain the ability to detain minors for more than 12 hours. Officials could also ban gatherings judged a threat to public order.
Those tools target the pattern of large youth crowds, property damage, and repeated attempts to hold central Milan. The government is treating the weekend as more than a one-off scuffle.
U.S. President Donald Trump spoke to reporters Monday outside the White House and tied Italy’s trouble to the same pressures already hitting France. He pointed to years of high inflows and cultural change.
"I told them all it was going to happen, that’s a boiler waiting to explode, it’s a very sad thing for me to watch... they came in by the millions, and honestly they are different countries than they were 10 years ago."
Trump’s comments landed as Meloni’s government moved from statements to troops. The contrast is plain: open borders and soft responses produced burned squares and injured cops; Rome is answering with soldiers and tighter rules.
Italian Left MEP Ilaria Salis pushed back hard on the detentions. Salis, previously convicted in Hungary over an Antifa hammer-gang attack and later elected to the European Parliament, centered her remarks on rights and process.
"I’m concerned about the minors arrested. Their rights must be respected; we’re not in a police state. I express my concern about the situation of those stopped and detained, it is unclear where, including numerous minors with a migrant background."
She added that even if some detained youths committed crimes, that would not erase their fundamental rights, which “must be guaranteed and respected without exception.” Her framing put the weight on how the state handles suspects rather than on the injured officers or looted storefronts.
That split defines the fight. Meloni, Crosetto, and Salvini treat the weekend as a public-order emergency that requires visible force and faster custody tools. The left treats the same numbers, 200-plus wounded police, 220 detained minors, luxury shops shuttered, as a caution against excess.
Milan’s streets showed the cost of the first approach failing. Over two days the city’s main square became a stage for fire, looting, and mass arrests. The government is now putting 500 soldiers on the line to keep it from happening again.
Burned plazas and battered cops are not abstract policy debates. Meloni’s Italy is choosing soldiers and clear rules over another round of excuses.
