Tens of thousands of students, workers, farmers and other demonstrators took to the streets in dozens of Italian cities on Friday, 30 October, during a 24-hour general strike called by the grassroots Unione Sindacale di Base (USB) union.
The largest rallies were in Rome, Milan and Turin, with marches also held in Naples, Bologna, Genoa, Venice, Palermo and other cities. Protesters demanded higher wages, stronger public services and more investment in education, and opposed rising defence spending and the wars in the Middle East.
In Rome, a large march set off from the central Termini station and passed the Colosseum, where security had been stepped up. Milan’s cathedral also received special protection. A few skirmishes between protesters and riot police broke out at the start of the Turin protest, while rallies in Bologna and Genoa took place under a heavy police presence.
The action followed weeks of student-led protests, including tent camps and school occupations, and came after clashes between young protesters and police in Milan on 17-18 October, after which Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government tightened laws on public gatherings.
Dockworkers also joined the action, with unions in Italy, France, Greece, Spain, Turkiye and Morocco jointly demanding an end to the militarisation of ports, saying ports must not be used to transport weapons and military equipment.
Al Jazeera notes that prices for food, energy, transport and household bills in Italy have risen 68 percent since 2000, while the average wage has fallen by almost 5 percent.
Source: Al Jazeera, CNN
