La Repubblica: Italy finds no evidence of foreign involvement in organizing riots

Italian intelligence services have found no evidence to support claims of possible foreign interference in the organization of riots, La Repubblica reports, citing Bruno Valensise, head of the Internal Security and Information Agency (AISI).

According to the newspaper, Valensise told the Parliamentary Committee for the Security of the Republic (Copasir) that there is currently no evidence of foreign involvement in organizing the demonstrations. However, AISI has not ruled out the possibility that foreign actors may have joined protests that were already underway in an attempt to escalate them.

On October 16, a wave of protests against the government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni swept across Italy. Isolated incidents were reported in Rome, Turin and Bologna. Demonstrations continued in Milan over the weekend.

Following the unrest in Milan, around 200 people were detained. More than 100 law enforcement officers were injured over the course of two days.

According to research center Unimpresa, a single day of protests and unrest across several Italian cities may have caused economic damage of up to €1.6 million.