Clashes erupt between Milan police and protesters for second day

Milan police clashed with protesters on Sunday as demonstrators threw stones and looted shops during rallies against poor public services and rising living costs, just a day after similar unrest broke out in several Italian cities.

Sources told Reuters that police fired tear gas and used water cannons after several hundred masked protesters smashed shop windows and set fire to garbage bins near the central Piazza del Duomo.

More than 60 protesters were taken to the police station for further questioning, according to the sources.

A police report released today said a total of 28 protesters were arrested after similar clashes erupted on Saturday in northern cities including Milan, Bologna, Brescia, Bergamo, and Turin.

The clashes recall the violence seen in neighboring France, where hundreds of thousands took to the streets on Saturday, angered by rising costs and deteriorating public services, in some of the most violent protests in years.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who faces elections next year, condemned the violence and announced a government meeting on Monday to discuss ways to address the situation.