Milan luxury boutiques stay shut amid fears of more violence as most arrested are minors

Several luxury boutiques in central Milan remained closed on Monday, 19 October, after a weekend of serious unrest left windows smashed, shops looted and businesses fearing further attacks. Around 50 people were arrested, the vast majority of them minors. Damage is estimated at more than €1 million. Mayor Giuseppe Sala fears the tensions have not subsided, with further questioning and judicial decisions due on Tuesday.

Hermès, Chanel and Pomellato were among the businesses affected. The damage estimate covers broken windows, damaged interiors and stolen goods; lost sales come on top. Beyond repairs and replacing stock, retailers face the question of when they can reopen without fearing another round of looting.

Violence reaches Cathedral Square

The disturbances on Saturday and Sunday spread through central shopping streets and reached Piazza del Duomo, Milan’s Cathedral Square. Young people hurled litter bins, containers, tables, paving stones and glass bottles at police, injuring officers. Sala visited devastated shops with Carlo Sangalli, president of the business association Confcommercio. He called the behaviour “unacceptable and impossible to justify”.

On Saturday, groups of rioters mingled with participants in the authorised “Italia in piazza” demonstration. Groups gathered again in the centre on Sunday. The violence occurred against a backdrop of protests over high living costs, but no shared political programme or organisation behind the attacks has yet emerged. Peaceful participation in a demonstration must be distinguished from involvement in violence.

Some young people travelled from outside Milan, including Varese, Lecco, Novara and Turin, as well as the surrounding area. The investigation therefore extends beyond individual city neighbourhoods. The role of arrangements made online, and how particular attacks came about, remain open questions.

Minors at the centre of the investigation

Only eleven of the roughly 50 people arrested are adults, aged between 18 and 24. All the others are minors. Milan police have questioned 220 minors in total, a figure that should not be confused with the number arrested. Investigators are also dealing with children aged twelve and thirteen in connection with the unrest.

Prosecutors handling adult and juvenile cases are investigating offences of devastation and looting, alongside resisting police with several aggravating circumstances. The Italian offence of devastation and looting generally carries a prison sentence of eight to fifteen years. That does not indicate what sentence any individual defendant might receive, particularly as special criminal-law rules apply to minors.

On Monday, the juvenile prosecutor’s office headed by Luca Villa submitted its first eleven requests for judicial confirmation of arrests and precautionary measures. Questioning at Beccaria juvenile prison is scheduled for Tuesday. Five adult suspects were heard at San Vittore prison on Monday; Judge Fabrizio Filice’s decision is expected on Tuesday.

Prosecutors base their detention requests on the severity of the violence and a concrete risk of reoffending. They describe an exceptional readiness to launch sudden acts of destruction and a lack of self-control. A 24-year-old suspect denies any involvement, saying he did nothing and was in the wrong place at the wrong time. All suspects are presumed innocent.

Financial worries and justifications for violence

Some young men released after being detained justify the unrest by pointing to a lack of prospects. An 18-year-old Italian-Albanian who calls himself Lallo travelled with his brother from the Bellano area on Lake Como. They received the call to attend through social networks. “It is the only way to make yourself heard,” he says of the violence.

Another young man, Alessandro, describes taking casual work on building sites and wanting a permanent job. He hopes eventually to start a family. The young men cite low wages and a feeling that the opportunities available to them offer no route forward. At the same time, they say they will return to the streets and raise the prospect of further escalation.

Their accounts do not explain the motives of everyone involved. They do, however, show how some young people link economic insecurity to a justification for destruction. Their political outlooks differ: Alessandro describes himself as far-right, while his companions think differently. They identify no common leader.

Political tensions and the view from Switzerland

Deputy Prime Minister and Lega leader Matteo Salvini is calling for tougher action against violent offenders. A centre-right rally in Cathedral Square also saw insults, shouting and jostling. An anti-migrant banner heightened tensions with young people gathered there.

For Switzerland, the immediate connection is geographical. Milan is readily accessible from Ticino and via the Gotthard route, and is a destination for shopping, business travel and culture. The boutique closures therefore also affect visitors from Switzerland. The information available so far does not, however, establish either a general threat to travellers or disruption to cross-border transport links. Those distinctions matter when assessing what the unrest means for people travelling from Switzerland.

The next step lies with the courts, which must decide on the requested detention measures. In parallel, investigators must establish which acts can be proved against which individuals. For Milan and its retailers, the central question remains whether further attacks can be prevented, allowing shops to operate without fear of renewed looting. The tally of arrests and damage is still provisional.