Italy has approved sweeping security measures after cost-of-living protests in the north turned violent, including the deployment of 500 troops to Milan and tougher penalties for rioters.
The cabinet has also created a new offence covering violent participation in demonstrations, while parents could face financial liability if their children are involved in vandalism or looting.
The measures take effect immediately. Anyone who joins a group of at least five people and endangers public safety during a protest could face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to €20,000.
Penalties will be increased when protesters conceal their faces or injure other people. Authorities will also be able to order prompt compensation for damage caused during unrest.
Italy security measures include troop deployment
The Ministry of Defence said troops would reinforce security at key sites, increase surveillance of sensitive locations and strengthen monitoring in Milan.
Police will be allowed to detain young people aged between 14 and 17 if there is evidence they pose a danger, even when they have not committed a crime. The power previously applied only to adults.
However, soldiers will not receive policing powers. Italian media reported that the cabinet dropped the proposal after opposition from President Sergio Mattarella.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the authorities must respond firmly to violence. “Destroying and stealing is not protest, it is crime, and the state’s response must be firm,” she wrote in a social media post after the cabinet meeting.
Groups of mainly young people looted shops, smashed windows and clashed with police in Milan and other northern cities over the weekend. Demonstrators cited soaring fuel and energy prices, high rents, low wages and the condition of public services.
The unrest came as Meloni’s government faced a separate wave of protests in southern Italy, where lorry drivers have staged roadblocks over rising diesel prices and the cost of living, disrupting supply chains.
The disturbances in the north also echoed riots in neighbouring France, where hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets on Saturday in some of the country’s most violent turmoil in years.
Protesters in both parts of Italy say rising prices are pushing families into poverty, increasing pressure on Meloni ahead of the 2027 national elections.
