Meloni prepares drastic measures against a new wave of youth violence

Meloni prepares drastic measures against a new wave of youth violence The massive participation of minors summoned through TikTok, without leaders or political organization, bewilders the authorities - 5 minutes reading ROME.- After a weekend marked by protests in various Italian cities, disturbances and even looting -especially in Milan- - the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, presided over a cabinet meeting on Monday to confront the new public order crisis. "The State will give a firm response," she stated at the end of the meeting, where new security measures "against those who sow chaos" were analyzed, as Meloni had foreshadowed. The initiatives could be incorporated into a decree law planned for this Tuesday. According to Corriere della Sera, these could include the extension of preventive detention for minors, actions to combat "youth gangs" (or "maranza," as the League party calls them) and the prohibition of gatherings for those individuals responsible for acts of group violence and destruction. There is also consideration of applying a "deferred arrest" to those who participate in property damage committed in a group. Furthermore, prison sentences of up to five years and fines of 15,000 euros in cases of damage caused by a group. Furthermore, the reinforcement of the "Safe Streets" operation in Milan will be addressed, through an increase in the number of troops deployed by the Army. On the other hand, the government intends to toughen sentences for road blockades. Just when protests of much greater scope and concern are also escalating in France and Albania, new scenes of urban guerrilla warfare occurred in Milan this Sunday. There, in the historic center, in scenes that left everyone speechless, hooded youths not only looted a supermarket but also broke windows and looted luxury shops, to such an extent that, fearing new assaults, some decided to keep their blinds closed on Monday. The most worrying thing is that out of approximately 200 detained young people, 80% were minors, who self-summoned through TikTok, without political affiliation and without criminal records. Not only this, the newspaper La Repubblica headlined the entire page this Monday with "The war of the 'ragazzi' (the boys)." "We saw the live stream on TikTok and we came," two minors under thirteen explained to the local press. "If they break everything, who am I not to do it?", asked another. As has happened in the past when other protests degenerated into incidents and acts of vandalism, the right accuses the left opposition of not sufficiently condemning violence. BREAKING: — Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) October 18, 2026 Inspired by France, young second and third-generation migrants started looting stores in Milan, Italy around 2 hours ago. International mainstream media isn’t showing just how bad things are in Europe. pic.twitter.com/ngDVLvDpj2 While the left, which condemns these acts of violence, warns that legitimate rights to protest should not be limited nor should the reasons for social unrest be minimized. The demonstrations, initially called by various unions on Saturday in several cities of the country, aimed to protest against the cost of living, high rents, and low wages. Already on Saturday, many of the protests, initially peaceful, degenerated into disturbances and chaos in various cities. But what happened the following day in Milan, with scenes of vandalism and urban guerrilla warfare, with confrontations between hooded individuals and agents, was more than that. That is why there was a strong exchange between the Mayor of Milan, Giuseppe Sala, from the center-left, and the Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi, close to the League. Sala accused Piantedosi of having underestimated the situation, leaving the city with fewer agents than necessary. And the Minister of the Interior retorted by accusing Sala of being a representative of a "caviar left." The truth is that the Ministry of the Interior was completely unsettled by the new disturbances, especially because suddenly it has to deal with an "unheaded" adversary. There are no leaders to deal with, no organizations to monitor, but rather these are boys, many minors, who make an appointment through social networks to meet at some point and break everything. "This is what worries the Italian security apparatus: the impossibility of applying traditional prevention instruments," wrote the newspaper La Repubblica. In a climate of tension, the Vice-Premier and Minister of Transport, Matteo Salvini, leader of the League, floated the idea of not granting Italian citizenship to those who participate in acts of vandalism and violence. Non-Italians create total chaos outside Milan Cathedral. This is an attack on Christian faith. pic.twitter.com/z50r98FJz7 — RadioGenoa (@RadioGenoa) October 19, 2026 "One does not have to grant citizenship to those who have been identified in the Italian squares in confrontations these days," he said. "There are also Italian imbeciles and criminals, but we have to put up with them, but those who would want to become Italians will never be able to do so," he advanced. Being born in Italy does not imply obtaining Italian citizenship if one is the child of foreigners because "ius solis" does not apply, and the procedure can only begin after having resided in the country uninterruptedly and having completed 18 years.