Italian government to deploy 500 military personnel to work with police in Milan — NBC News
The Italian government said it will deploy 500 military personnel to work alongside police in Milan through the end of 2026. This comes amid nationwide strikes and demonstrations against the high cost of living and significant military spending, NBC News reports.
Strikes and port blockades
On Friday, thousands of people were preparing to take to the streets of Rome, Milan and other Italian cities. The Unione Sindacale di Base union and other trade unions called on public- and private-sector workers to join the strike and protests.
Large demonstrations were expected in Rome and other cities. Protesters also planned to block the ports of Genoa, Livorno, Trieste and other cities.
In southern Italy, farmers and truck drivers blocked highways and ports to protest high fuel prices. According to NBC News, prices rose after the war in Iran.
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Previous clashes
Over the previous weeks, some protests in Italy turned violent. Earlier this month, groups of masked people looted stores in Milan and elsewhere and threw objects at police, who used tear gas and water cannons.
Protest participants also stormed Rome's Colosseum. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she respects peaceful demonstrators, but her government has increased penalties for unrest, including introducing financial liability for parents whose children take part in vandalism and looting.
After presenting the legislative changes, Meloni said that vandalism and theft are crimes, not protest. NBC News writes that the Italian actions appear to have been partly inspired by protests in France, where student demonstrations over the state of education grew into broader protests over the cost of living and social welfare.
Protests also took place in other European countries: a large tent camp had stood in a square in Spain's capital since the end of the previous month, thousands of people took to the streets of Lisbon, and in Brussels police used tear gas and water cannons against protesters dressed in black.
