ROME — Thousands of students and workers marched in more than 50 Italian cities on Friday, taking part in a general strike over soaring living costs and the poor state of public services such as healthcare and education, CNN reported.
Farmers dumped manure on the streets of Turin. Teachers and workers from the agricultural and healthcare sectors staged strikes and marches in action spearheaded by the Unione Sindacale di Base (USB), according to CNN.
The largest rallies took place in Milan, Turin and Rome. In Milan, demonstrators held placards with anti-government slogans aimed at Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her right-wing government. “Let’s oust the Meloni government—rebellion is just,” one placard read, CNN reported. In Naples, some protesters burnt photos of Meloni.
Preventative arrests were made ahead of the marches, the Interior Ministry said Friday morning, but clashes between protesters and police still occurred in places, according to CNN.
Transport workers had been slated to join the pickets, but they abandoned those plans after Transport Minister Matteo Salvini threatened the sector with sanctions. The USB urged taxi drivers to go ahead with strikes despite also receiving the warning, CNN reported.
In Genoa, dockworkers mobilized against the “militarization” of the port, in a bid to block the export of arms shipments to conflict zones. In Bologna, students called on the government to review education policy, according to CNN.
The USB had called the strike for Friday in all public and private sectors, with demonstrations in every city. In its call, the union said petrol and diesel prices had soared to over 2 euros per litre and that pay no longer keeps pace with inflation. It demanded price controls, a revival of wages and pensions, and public spending directed towards social services rather than weapons.
Ahead of the demonstrations, the Interior Ministry announced a “comprehensive plan” to “safeguard the right to peaceful protest, ensure the safety of the whole community, and isolate those who take to the streets solely to cause disorder and commit acts of violence.”
The plan followed a meeting chaired by Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi. Prefects, police chiefs and senior officers from all regional capitals took part, the ministry said.
Police and ministry reinforcements would cover the territory, the ministry added. It also pointed to ongoing monitoring by the intelligence services and police investigators.
Italy is not alone. CNN reported that protests have swept through Europe in recent weeks, with demonstrations in France over education investment and working conditions, housing protests in Spain and Portugal, and anti-government protests in Albania and Serbia.
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