Cost-of-living protests: 50 detained in Milan, clashes in Turin and Bologna

Protests against escalating living costs erupted in Italy, leading to violent clashes with law enforcement in Milan, Turin, and Bologna. The largest demonstration occurred in Milan, where 25 individuals sustained injuries, including ten police officers. During the unrest, police employed tear gas, water cannons, and hydrants to disperse the crowd, while protesters retaliated using fire extinguishers, firecrackers, fireworks, and objects like rubbish bins and barriers.

The tension escalated to the point of damaging shops, setting a portable toilet ablaze in Piazza Duomo, and overturning chairs and tables in the city center. As a result of the protest, 50 people were detained, half of them minors.

In the Lombardy capital, Turin, 12 people were detained, with ten minors among them. Clashes in Turin saw unrest involving young protesters, overturned bins, tables, and chairs used as barricades, along with bottles, firecrackers, sticks, and stones thrown at the police. By the end of the protest, 12 people were apprehended, 10 of them minors, for possessing petrol bombs, firecrackers, cobblestones, and emergency window hammers. Some are under investigation for suspected involvement in causing damage.

Bologna witnessed clashes surrounding the railway station and Piazza Medaglie d'Oro, where hooded youths threw stones and objects, causing dozens of rented bicycles to be knocked over. The protest initially began from Piazza Minghetti and moved towards Via Farini and Via Marconi. A group of protesters separated near the station to throw smoke bombs, glass bottles, and barriers.

Police utilized water cannons and tear gas, and the protest subsequently advanced towards central Via Indipendenza. Seven people were detained, and their status will be assessed.