Why are Italian police searching homes in eighteen cities?

Police raids stretch from Genoa down to Bari. They follow a weekend of looting in Milan, where groups of youths swarmed shops and supermarkets, smashing windows before quickly dispersing.

Police searched the homes of about 100 people in 18 cities; 51 of them were minors. In Genoa, police reported a man for incitement to crime over a chat, and in Cremona they seized knives and a machete.

Matteo Salvini blamed family failures, not outside actors. He said: "We are thinking of removing bonuses and public contributions from parents who have hooligans at home."

Meloni's government sent 500 paratroopers to Milan to help local police amid fears of more violence this weekend. A new security decree also makes violent participation in a demonstration a crime, with jail terms of up to five years.