12 June 2026
Rachele Caggioni
Youth Unemployment and Social Revenge: A Chinese Lens on the Modena Events of 16 May
In recent weeks, much has been written and said about the Modena case of May 16, in which a 31-year-old man, Salim El Koudri, drove his car into a storefront at high speed, injuring eight people, three of them seriously. The incident has reignited discussions about mental health, the alleged “failure of the Basaglia reform,” and the importance of effective prevention. Attention has also been drawn to the need not only for accessible psychiatric treatment but also for a comprehensive support system and the timely recognition of warning signs, which are too often overlooked.
Corriere della Sera reports that the leading hypothesis being considered by the Squadra Mobile and the Digos of the young man’s motive is that the incident was due to “resentment accumulated over his inability to find a job.” The same newspaper later refers to the incident—perhaps without giving it sufficient emphasis—as a form of “revenge” directed against Italians. It is precisely on this point that it is worth dwelling a little longer and offering an additional perspective. Such an exercise is necessary if we wish to avoid turning the page too quickly, as we do with most news stories.
Whether the perpetrator suffered from mental illness or was influenced by Islamist radicalization remains, in this specific case, an asymptotic reflection with respect to the underlying problem.
For many readers, learning that Salim may have had psychiatric issues easily leads to a subtle sense of reassurance—“this does not concern me”—allowing the individual’s, and therefore society’s, suffering to be viewed from a safe distance.
Likewise, if the motive is attributed to Islamist radicalization, does that not make us feel even less personally involved, and therefore less responsible for addressing the root causes?
What often escapes understanding is that the spark, the epicenter from which Salim’s resentment erupted, is shared by many more people than we might imagine. What if his violent act were merely one of many possible outlets for frustrations stemming from the same source?
The episode that shocked Modena and Italy as a whole is well captured in a phenomenon that has gained prominence in China, which Chinese media has named “social revenge” (bàofù shèhuì, 报复社会). The term describes brutal acts of violence committed indiscriminately against society by individuals driven by deep frustration and resentment.
In the southern city of Zhuhai, a sixty-two-year-old man, dissatisfied with the legal outcome of his divorce, drove his car into a sports complex, killing twelve people and injuring many others. A few days later, an armed attacker stabbed eight people to death and injured seventeen at a vocational school in Yixing. It was later found that he had failed an examination preventing him from completing his degree. Many similar incidents have occurred in China over the past few decades, reaching the seriousness of a national social phenomenon, with a notable surge in autumn 2024.
The China Youth Daily (Zhōngguó Qīngnián Bào, 中国青年报) opened a public debate by writing: “When revenge is committed against society, the government should understand that it can change society and transform it through good governance to achieve social justice at a higher level.” Perhaps Chinese media has grasped something that we in the West still struggle to accept.
Recognizing significant similarities between the violence in Modena and these incidents in China—particularly regarding concepts such as irrationality, resentment, and social revenge—I would therefore venture a reflection on social justice in Italy.
Italy ranks second among European Union countries in the number of NEETs (young people Not in Education, Employment, or Training), that is, individuals aged 15 to 29, who neither study nor work. The growing exodus of young Italians seeking better wages and more suitable employment conditions abroad has become increasingly significant. According to Partito Democratico (Democratic Party) secretary Elly Schlein, approximately 192,000 young people have left the country over the past four years.
If these figures are not enough, one may reflect on a phenomenon that is self-evident: the necessity for Italian parents to continue supporting their children financially well beyond the European average age. The Franco-Quebecois sociologist Cécile Van de Velde has argued that one indicator of inequality—one in which Italy stands out—is the strong interdependence between generations. In Northern European countries, young people typically leave home around the age of twenty, whereas in Mediterranean countries the average rises to twenty-seven.
A substantial portion of Italy’s younger generation remains dependent on parental support, while the older generation is often only able to bear this burden because of inherited wealth and home ownership, not because their wages have increased.
In a LinkedIn post published in February 2026, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni highlighted the decline in unemployment rates. Although factually correct, her statement rests on a selective reading of the available data which ignores the rise in inactive young people (aged 15 to 24), many of whom have migrated or ceased looking for regular employment. In addition to this, Italian wages have never fully recovered from the 2008 financial crisis, remaining almost 9 percent below pre-crisis levels. Between 2020 and 2023, a decreasing share of national wealth was distributed to workers in the form of wages, while an increasing proportion flowed into corporate profits.
Why is it important to mention all of this?
The purpose of reflecting here is obviously not to justify such a horrific gesture, which must be judged and punished according to the law. Rather, these few pages seek to understand and to search for clarity, thereby giving meaning to what we have been witnessing and debating. Referring to the “Modena incident” semantically suggests an interruption in the normal course of events (from the Latin in-cadere, “to fall into”), something unexpected, like a car accident before which “we are saddened, we are outraged, we commit ourselves”—and, as Fabrizio De André taught us, we know how that story ends.
What is being asked of us is this: to view the events of Modena on May 16 as a human and social crisis. Discussing prevention and solutions is essential, but without forgetting or obscuring the responsibility of government institutions, just as the China Youth Daily dared to point out.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With a degree in Oriental Languages and Cultures with a specialization in China, Rachele went on to earn a Master’s degree in Semiotics and Communication. Her research applies the tools of semiotics to the analysis of Chinese politics and society, with particular attention to contemporary social and political dynamics. Living in Paris for the past two years, she is currently pursuing a degree in investigative journalism.