Italy’s government will dispatch 500 army troops to “defend Milan” after two days of unrest that saw demonstrators clash with police, loot shops and vandalise property, according to Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini cited by the Guardian on Monday.

Saturday’s protest over poor public services and rising costs descended into looting in the city centre, with several hundred hooded protesters setting bins ablaze, and stores including Decathlon, Arc’teryx and Vodafone were ransacked.