Dozens of rioters have been arrested following the outbreak of a “guerrilla war” outside the Duomo cathedral in central Milan as unrest from France appears to be boiling over into fellow European nations.

Stones, smoke bombs, fireworks, and Molotov cocktails were the weapons of choice for the youth hoodlums that descended upon Milan, leaving some 141 police officers injured during the so-called cost of living protests on Saturday. The violence mainly occurred in Piazza del Duomo, the square outside Milan Cathedral, the neo-Gothic church dedicated to the Nativity of St. Mary, which serves as the seat of the Archbishop of Milan and stands as the largest church in the whole of Italy.

According to Italy’s public news wire service Ansa, 197 people were detained by police during the demonstration, while 28 were arrested, including 12 minors and six foreign nationals. The wire service noted that there was also a heavy contingent of “second-generation migrants” involved in the riots.

An estimated 5,000 protesters took part in the demonstration in Milan, which was called to mimic the supposed cost-of-living protests in France. While some demonstrators literally chanted in French, the protest quickly devolved into “guerrilla warfare”, Ansa reported.

“Milan was reduced to a battlefield, with Piazza Duomo besieged by hundreds of young people dressed in black. They forced the police to retreat under the hurling of firecrackers, barriers, and bottles, until they occupied the city’s symbolic square,” the wire service wrote.

Like in France, the rioters were seen setting fires on the streets, smashing the windows of storefronts, and looting shops, forcing police to deploy water cannons to disperse the mobs. Among those injured in the chaotic scenes was Police chief Angelo De Simone, who was struck in the head with a cobblestone, causing a significant wound, the local Corriere della Sera newspaper reported.

As has also been the case in France, the rioters are believed to have largely descended upon the city from the multicultural suburbs which surround Milan. Some on social media suggested that the Duomo was specifically targeted due to the alleged large number of Muslims within the demonstrations.

The Il Giornale newspaper accused Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala and his Green Party-led coalition of having “fomented” the riots. “Dear Sala, mayor of Youth and Islamists, apologise to the Milanese for the guerrilla war in the city,” the paper demanded.

Describing the nature of the protests, the paper added: “The police are targeted by groups dressed in black, their faces covered. They look like the old Black Bloc, but instead they are 12- and 13-year-olds with no criminal record who now, once they take to the streets, call themselves ‘Generation Gaza’: kids from the suburbs, many second-generation, carrying the Albanian flag to cheer on the Tirana uprising.

“They don’t care about the high cost of living: the march is the pretext, the center is the target, boredom is the great and powerful fuse. It’s this youth who posted the video on TikTok of them attacking a store that we now have to confront.”

Responding to the violent scenes, which also occurred in Turin and Bologna to a lesser extent, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that while he has “great respect” for those who peacefully protested on Saturday, she condemned the “thugs who exploit demonstrations to sow chaos, attack those who ensure security, and hold entire cities hostage.”

“Demonstrating is a right. Setting our cities ablaze is not, she wrote on X. “I renew my request to the opposition: do not be ambiguous about this. Unequivocally condemn these acts of violence and issue a clear appeal for every mobilization to be peaceful.

“In the face of scenes like these, the rejection must be unanimous. Any hesitation becomes justification. Silence is not acceptable.”

Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the populist Lega party, Matteo Salvini, redoubled his call to pass legislation requiring protest movements to post a financial deposit before demonstrations as insurance against damage to public or private property caused by protesters.

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