Rioters loot stores in Milan during cost-of-living protest featuring Palestinian symbols

ROME — Rioters clashed with police, looted stores and set property on fire in central Milan on Saturday, emptying Piazza del Duomo and a luxury shopping arcade when the area would usually be teeming with shoppers.

The march against wars — including Palestinian flags and keffiyeh headscarves — and against rising living costs began peacefully.

But masked protesters threw stones, paving blocks and other objects at riot police and set fire to barricades made from bar tables. Images of the aftermath showed a severely damaged carabinieri car.

Police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse the crowds.

At least two police officers were injured and about 50 demonstrators, including many minors, were detained, the LaPresse news agency reported.

Shops pulled down their shutters and tourists fled the central area. The central Duomo (Cathedral) metro station was closed during the clashes.

Meanwhile, police in Bologna used a water cannon to try to disperse crowds and made seven arrests after the protest became violent, the ANSA news agency reported.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, facing an election next year, condemned the violence in a social media post.

“Demonstrating is a right. Setting our cities ablaze is not,” she wrote, citing “hooligans who exploit demonstrations to sow chaos, attack those responsible for ensuring security and hold entire cities hostage.”

Milan’s center-left mayor, Giuseppe Sala, said “the reasons for the protests were understandable. The violence against law enforcement and serious damage to the city are not justifiable.”

The unrest coincided with nationwide demonstrations in neighboring France against rising living costs and in support of high school students’ grievances. French police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse violent protesters who joined the rallies.