Trucks, vans and even tractors stopped at entrances and on highways, but no big signs on the banners. It is the protest that started from the base of the trucking world of Southern Italy, organized between social networks and chat groups, which led the demonstrators to block various arteries of the country, from Ravenna to Caltanissetta, against the increase in the price of fuels.
There were moments of tension, yesterday a truck driver was stabbed by a motorist, fortunately not seriously.
The mobilization - "uncoordinated and without the consent of official representatives", as explained by the main trade associations - risks having consequences on production and "on the prices of the food supply chain", is denounced by many parties.
And there are already the first effects: the Italian pasta company La Molisana is among the first to announce the suspension of production also because it is unable to distribute. "We support the haulers' strike", says the company, specifying that a date has not yet been set for the resumption of production.
Various political forces, from parliamentarians to governors, are calling for an urgent and decisive intervention by the government for a protest that is also worrying for the feared escalation of tension. A first worrying episode occurred in Foggiano, where - we said - a truck driver who was protesting on state road 16 was stabbed by a motorist: at the sight of the demonstrators, the attacker had not slowed down by backing off and risking hitting them. At that point he got out of the car and wounded one of those present with a knife.
From the sit-in near the A2 junctions of Gioia Tauro and Rosarno to the parade of truck drivers on the Caserta route of the A1 or the Apulian state roads of Lecce and Taranto, there were several mobile blocks, imposed and then removed, but which in any case caused traffic delays and inconveniences. Not only in the South, "snail" trucks blocked traffic even in Genoa.
"The costs are so high that traveling has become too expensive, so we decided to stop the vehicles", they explain.
Even if in general these are peaceful initiatives, according to the protesters themselves, the protest could rise to the point of blocking the supply of goods and services throughout the country.
