Tens of Thousands March Across Italy in Nationwide Strike
A 24-hour general strike brought marches to more than 40 cities, as workers and students protested the cost of living, public services and higher military spending.
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across Italy on Friday, in a nationwide general strike over wages, the cost of living and military spending.
The marchers were mostly students and workers. The grassroots union Unione Sindacale di Base, known as USB, called a 24-hour general strike, with protests planned in more than 40 cities.
The demands were straightforward: higher wages, stronger public services, relief from rising living costs, and opposition to increased military spending. USB says real wages have lost 9.4 percent of their purchasing power since 2021, and that 5.4 million people in Italy live in absolute poverty.
Rome, Milan and Turin
In Rome, a large march passed near the Colosseum. Some protesters said they planned to set up tents and remain over the weekend. Some rubbish bins were placed across streets and set on fire.
In Milan, protesters marched onto the city's ring road before ending the march in front of the Politecnico di Milano university. In Turin, police used a water cannon to push back students and left-wing activists who approached security cordons protecting the prefecture building.
Reuters reported the demonstrations were largely peaceful. They came after clashes earlier this month in which protesters fought with police, looted shops and vandalised property.
The Genoa port
In Genoa, around 15,000 port workers, students and other demonstrators entered the port. They were joining similar protests in Europe and elsewhere against the use of ports for arms shipments, and highlighting the deaths of seafarers in conflicts from the Gulf to the Black Sea.
Dockworkers blocked part of the port area early in the morning using tyres and smoke flares. Euronews reported that port workers are also striking in around 20 countries against the transport of weapons, under the slogan "Shut everything down."
The government's response
Transport Minister Matteo Salvini ordered transport workers to postpone their planned walkout, citing restrictions on strikes in essential services during the period surrounding All Souls' Day on November 2. Rail operators said trains would follow their regular schedules.
USB rejected the intervention and said it intended to proceed with the wider strike, despite the possibility of sanctions. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said authorities were on alert over the possible infiltration of violent groups into the marches, and that police planned to step up checks.
The strike is part of a wider wave of protests across Europe, including in France, Spain, Belgium and Albania, driven by grievances over the cost of living. In Italy, the marches on Friday were the latest in a series of large demonstrations this month, and the Rome protesters' plan to camp over the weekend means the story is not over when the strike day ends.
