TikTok fuels youth riots in Milan as 28 arrested, 141 police injured

Riots erupted in Milan on Saturday, with hundreds of teenagers, including minors, joining violent clashes with police, according to initial reports. The unrest, which spread to several Italian cities, resulted in 28 arrests and 141 injured officers. The protest, organized by the "Italia in Piazza" movement to denounce rising living costs and low wages, drew additional youths after first incidents with police. Many discovered the events via TikTok and other social media, joining from as far as Varese, without identifiable leaders or clear political demands. Participants, some linked to the "Maranza" urban subculture, threw stones and firecrackers while filming clashes. Student groups withdrew, and political tensions rose as Milan's mayor criticized the government's police deployment, while the interior minister blamed a "radical chic" left.