Rioters looted stores, set property on fire and clashed with police in central Milan after a protest against wars and rising living costs turned violent, according to The Independent.
The march began peacefully before masked protesters started throwing stones, paving blocks and other objects at riot police. Barricades made from bar tables were set alight. Images from the aftermath showed a severely damaged carabinieri car.
The disorder emptied Piazza del Duomo and a nearby luxury shopping arcade that would usually be crowded with shoppers. That shift matters. A protest can force attention onto prices, wages or war; once it slides into street violence, the political argument narrows fast and the state gets to answer in its preferred register of security and control.
The Independent, citing the LaPresse news agency, reported that at least two police officers were injured and about 50 demonstrators were detained, including many minors. That detail sharpens the sense of a demonstration that lost any coherent public message once masked groups took over the street.
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni condemned the violence in a social media post, writing: “Demonstrating is a right. Setting our cities ablaze is not,” and accusing “hooligans” of exploiting protests to sow chaos.
Milan’s centre-left mayor, Giuseppe Sala, drew a more politically careful line. He said the reasons for the protests were understandable, but the violence against law enforcement and the damage to the city were not justifiable.
The available reports do not establish who drove the escalation or how much property was damaged. They do establish the visible result: a protest called over economic strain ended with fires, looted shops and the centre of Milan cleared out.
Dua Mifsud 
Alex de Valletta 
Ryan C