The youngest children marched in strollers pushed by their mothers, some elementary school children holding signs saying "I'm 10 and I'm striking for my tomorrow." They were joined by students, workers, temporary workers, farmers, retirees, housing movements, pro-Pal workers, and grassroots unions to say no to rearmament and the high cost of living. A mobilization on the day of the general strike called by the USB (Italian Social Workers' Union), which united several generations in over sixty peaceful squares, but which escalated into tensions in the evening—with bottles thrown at police, charges, and water cannons—in downtown Rome and Turin. One and a half million people participated, according to USB estimates, which highlighted "a huge turnout of students and young people" and assured: "We certainly won't stop here."
The day of protests, for which security was high, involved a wide range of sectors: from farmers to schools, from the cinema to the audiovisual industry. Thousands of people poured into the squares and streets of dozens of cities, marching peacefully and without disrupting public order. Rome and Turin were the exceptions. The morning marches went smoothly, but then tensions escalated. In the capital, a segment of the march broke away from the main march near the Colosseum, throwing objects at officers and setting fire to several dumpsters. Police responded with a relief charge. Tensions rose again a few hours later, first on Ponte Sisto in Trastevere, when a large group attempted to march toward Parliament, and then on Lungotevere Testaccio, where water cannons were activated to disperse the crowd.
Piazza Montecitorio, in front of the Chamber of Deputies, and Piazza Colonna, in front of Palazzo Chigi, were closed and guarded by riot police. Eight people were arrested for repeatedly attempting to break through the barriers. Water cannons were used, eggs were thrown, and charges were also used in Piazza Castello in Turin to repel protesters who had approached the cordons protecting the Prefecture. Further clashes erupted in the evening, again in the historic center, when the marchers launched a barrage of bottles, which officers responded with tear gas. Tensions also erupted in Mestre, where seven officers suffered bruises and cuts when the marchers attempted to break through the cordon, and in Vicenza, where ten protesters and officers were injured in the riots that broke out when they attempted to occupy the ring road.
Only disruption, however, occurred in Milan, the scene of violence and looting two weeks ago: after traveling more than two kilometers along the eastern ring road—blocking it for an hour and a half—the protesters returned to the city, leaving behind graffiti on the sides of the roadway: "Salvini hanging" and "Meloni hanging." The protests also reached the ports, with a campaign launched by several trade unions involving over 100 ports in 17 countries against arms trafficking. In Genoa and Naples, students and workers marched into the port areas without causing any problems. And today was a new test for security. The Interior Ministry had assured that it would deploy a "comprehensive system to protect the right to peaceful protest" and isolate the violent protesters. Indeed, most of the marches concluded without any significant incidents, with protesters and police never coming into contact. A system, set up by the Ministry of the Interior, agreed upon with the prefects, police commissioners and heads of the other police forces of all the regional capitals.
(Unioneonline)