Milan Luxury Shops Close for Fear of New Unrest as Government Prepares to Deploy Troops

Shops in central Milan closed early and boarded up windows on Monday due to fears of renewed unrest. This follows two days of protests that began peacefully on Saturday regarding rising costs and poor public services but escalated into demonstrators clashing with police, looting stores, and vandalizing property. The protests involved several hundred hooded individuals, many of whom are believed to be minors, who set bins on fire and looted various locations.

In the Via Montenapoleone luxury shopping district, which houses brands such as Dior, Chanel, and Tiffany, most stores removed merchandise from their windows as a precaution, according to The Korea Times and Business of Fashion. The Korea Times reports that stores including Decathlon, Arc'teryx, and Vodafone were among those ransacked, while others like Levi's and Under Armour used cardboard and wooden panels to cover their windows.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the violence. While police patrolled the streets, a small number of tourists were observed watching the area, according to The Korea Times.

Brief written by urgent.news from Business of Fashion, The Korea Times — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.