Milan receives 500 soldiers ahead of new Italian protests

The Italian government is deploying 500 soldiers to Milan this weekend.

This military presence follows a wave of unrest that erupted last Saturday in the country's financial capital. The new demonstrations are scheduled for eight cities. They target Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing administration and the rising cost of living. The protests come exactly one week after street clashes and looting disrupted Milan.

The October 17 Movement announced the new round of marches online. The group was formed recently and works with student federations, grassroots trade unions, and antiwar coalitions. They posted on Instagram that they distrust the government because they view it as authoritarian. The group stated that those who deny the future are truly violent.

Police carried out raids and searches in several cities on Friday. Officers targeted individuals suspected of looting and rioting. The news agency Adnkronos reported that police conducted 150 additional raids in the Lombardy region on Saturday morning. Organizers kept the specific locations of the demonstrations secret until the last minute. They planned to reveal three meeting points on social media on Saturday afternoon.

Law enforcement has identified the administrator of the movement's Instagram page. Police told Al Jazeera that the man is a 30-year-old Italian-Moroccan freelance journalist and researcher. He is under investigation on suspicion of inciting crimes, according to the daily Corriere della Sera. Most of the 271 people detained last Sunday were very young. Two hundred and twenty of the arrested individuals were under 18 years old.

Lawyer Michele D'Agostino is defending two demonstrators, aged 21 and 15. He noted that the younger client did not know the reasons behind the protest. The teenager had seen the event on TikTok and decided to check it out with a friend. D'Agostino said the boy was not a looter but did not grasp the seriousness of the situation. The public prosecutor blamed social media for misleading young people into insurrectional acts. Justice Minister Carlo Nordio told Sky TG24 that Italy needs to expand the capacity of its youth detention facilities.

Truck drivers in southern Italy set up roadblocks earlier this week to protest soaring fuel prices. The blockades left many markets without supplies for days. On Thursday, the government granted tax breaks and created a special fund for farmers and fishermen to ease the pressure.