Italy's New Security Decree After Milan Riots Raises Questions on Youth Unrest

Italy's government has introduced a new security decree following violent riots in Milan, while the social causes of the protests remain unaddressed. The identity of the mostly very young rioters also remains unclear. The decree creates a new criminal offense for participation in violent groups, with multi-year prison sentences, expanded preventive arrests and video-based identifications, harsher measures against minors, fines for their parents, and 500 additional soldiers deployed to Milan. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the violence as criminality, not protest. Critics, including student representative Tommaso Marcon, argue the focus on security ignores root causes like high living costs and poor future prospects for youth. Police report most of the 271 detained were minors, some as young as eleven, with no unified organization or ideology identified.