Adnkronos (Adnkronos) –
Milan's city center remains under fire. For the second consecutive day, the heart of the city is shaken by riots and violence. After Saturday's chaos, similar scenes erupted yesterday afternoon. Ultimately, over 200 young people were arrested, most of them minors—over 80%. After 48 hours of high tension, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is calling a meeting on public order tomorrow.
Yesterday, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi held a meeting with the Chief of Police and top officials at the Ministry of the Interior to review the situation. Milan's Police Chief, Bruno Megale, also joined the meeting remotely, and the minister conveyed his gratitude to the men and women in uniform for their response to the unrest.
"I have called a meeting on public order at Palazzo Chigi to assess the situation and evaluate further measures to combat those who exploit legitimate demonstrations to sow violence and chaos," Meloni wrote on social media, posting a photo of Angelo De Simone, the police officer injured by a stone on Saturday.
Sunday's day caught fire in the early afternoon (yesterday's news).
Small groups of hooded men began gathering in San Babila before throwing objects at law enforcement officers and moving to Via Torino between one mini-raids and another: the hooligans vandalized everything they found—shop windows, cars, bus shelters—throwing stones, chairs, and firecrackers, then quickly fleeing to resume their destruction elsewhere.
Guerrilla warfare continues in the heart of the city, between Via Torino, Piazza Duomo, and Corso Vittorio Emanuele, amid looted shops and damaged cars. The general profile of those responsible has been known since Saturday: numerous young people, both Italian and foreign, "almost all dressed in black and many with their faces covered," according to the Milan Police Headquarters.
The story was framed by the repeated exchange between Milan's mayor, Giuseppe Sala, and Minister Piantedosi. "I have the impression that the situation was underestimated and that the police force was inadequate. It seemed like too many against too few," the mayor said, commenting on Saturday's events. Sala referred to the presence of approximately "200 police officers; they were too few." Piantedosi's first response was immediate. "President Meloni, with a sense of responsibility, called on everyone to forcefully condemn the violence in the streets and to show solidarity with the police forces who were victims of despicable attacks. But after a few hours, the Mayor of Milan pointed the finger at the police forces, which – according to him – were inadequate in number to deal with the many violent attackers in Piazza Duomo. It is the usual natural and instinctive reflex of a certain radical chic left that simply cannot condemn the violent attackers without some distinction, always preferring to look at the alleged responsibilities of the State and its representatives," wrote the head of the Ministry of the Interior in a post on X.
"The blame should be on the Police Headquarters, for the alleged insufficient number of police officers deployed, rather than on those who chose to devastate the city and attack law enforcement. I reassure the mayor: the adequacy of security measures is always verified after the fact. This is also to better prepare for future challenges, in the face of emerging phenomena. But it's one thing to evaluate how to better prevent violence, and another to shift attention away from those who commit it," the minister continued. "The responsibility of those who use violence cannot be diluted in a controversy over the number of police officers, a completely unacceptable distortion of reality. On this occasion, as always, the police were present in the square and performed well, preventing worse trouble. If they struggled to contain the violent attackers, the reason is that those who wear the uniform have rules of engagement, have a sense of responsibility, seek to minimize critical situations, and respond by using public force only when strictly necessary. On the other side," concluded Piantedosi, "there are good-for-nothing criminals ready for anything who only want to strike, harm, and cause damage, only to then complain in front of the cameras when the police are relieved."
"To Piantedosi, who equates me with 'radical chic leftism,' I say a little decency wouldn't hurt. I've been working for 45 years—in fact, I've been working my butt off for 45 years—and I won't let anyone paint me as a lazy snob," Sala responded. "He should focus on doing his part and avoid personal attacks. Reminding him that yesterday I strongly condemned the violent people who ravaged Milan, I tell him that if he puts aside the tasteless jokes and intends to work together, I'm here. As always."
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