Overview
- The government adopted the decree Tuesday evening, putting it into immediate effect after violent street clashes and widespread property damage in Milan over the weekend.
- The decree extends preventive security detention to minors for up to 12 hours and makes parents financially liable for damage caused by their underage children, including fines for parents of very young offenders.
- A new criminal offence, labelled organised violence at public events, raises prison terms for participants and organisers and explicitly covers calls to action spread by telematic and social media channels.
- The cabinet ordered 500 additional soldiers to Milan to support police operations and sought expanded military arrest powers, but President Sergio Mattarella blocked the transfer of arrest authority to the armed forces.
- Critics and commentators say the package is a visible show of toughness that risks scapegoating precarious, often migrant suburban youth, will raise human-rights and proportionality concerns, and does little to address the social and economic causes of the unrest.