Farmers dumped fertilizer on the streets of Turin on Friday as large-scale demonstrations spread across more than 50 Italian cities.
Similar protests have taken place across Europe, with tens of thousands of Italians taking to the streets to protest the soaring cost of living and the poor state of health care, education and other public services.
Friday’s nationwide action was led by the anti-capitalist trade union Union Sindacare di Base (USB) and included workers from the public and private sectors.
Transport workers were also scheduled to join the picket, but plans were abandoned after Transport Minister Matteo Salvini threatened the sector with sanctions. USB called on taxi drivers to continue their strike despite receiving similar warnings.
The biggest rallies were held in Milan, Turin and the capital, Rome, where young and old came together to vent their anger at Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her right-wing government.
Demonstrators in Milan reportedly carried placards with the anti-government slogan: “Overthrow Meloni’s government – rebellion is justice.” In Naples, some demonstrators burned photos of Meloni.
More than 50 protests and demonstrations were held across Italy on Friday morning.
Italy’s interior ministry said “preventive” arrests were made ahead of the march to quell the violence. Apart from a few isolated skirmishes, the demonstrations continued into the afternoon and were largely peaceful.
When some young people in Rome tried to set a trash can on fire, others quickly put it out in an attempt to avoid the type of violence that marred similar protests in France.
Strong anti-war sentiment was evident, with many demonstrators marching waving Palestinian flags. Some held banners protesting the government’s military spending.
Friday’s industrial action was nationwide, but demands varied by location.
In the northern city of Genoa, dock workers rallied against the “militarization” of the port in a bid to block the export of Italian arms to conflict zones, including Israel.
But in nearby Bologna, students called on the government to reconsider its education policy.
Protests have spread across Europe in recent weeks as hundreds of thousands of people demand government action to ease rising costs of living.
Demonstrations in France began in late September with teachers and students protesting against a lack of investment in education and poor working conditions. Since then, protests have escalated, reflecting broader cost-of-living concerns.
The worsening housing crisis has sparked demonstrations across Spain and Portugal, with activists setting up camps in the capital’s central squares.
Albania has experienced a series of anti-government protests, with thousands of people taking to the streets to highlight allegations of government corruption and demand Prime Minister Edi Rama’s resignation.
And in Serbia, youth protests over the weekend were effective in ousting longtime leader Aleksandar Vučić.
