They kept their word. "We're shutting down everything" was the slogan launched the day before, and so it is: from buses to schools, to healthcare.
The general strike called across Italy for today by grassroots unions and the CGIL (Italian General Confederation of Labour) has also brought Cagliari to a standstill. At least 15,000 protesters gathered for the long march that started at 10:00 a.m. from Piazza Garibaldi and headed to Piazza del Carmine. Traffic was disrupted.
A massive turnout that echoes that of September 22, when the capital city also stopped to express its support for the Global Sumud flotilla and urge governments, especially the Italian one, to do something to stop Israel's massacre in the Gaza Strip.
The noisy and colorful march follows just hours after the large spontaneous demonstration that erupted Wednesday evening after the attack on the Flotilla. Groups of students, families, and activists marched, waving dozens of Palestinian and peace flags, as well as those of the USB and Cobas. The cry was unanimous and repeated: "Let's block everything."
The long procession ("There are 30,000 of us," the organizers say) passed in front of the Piazza Matteotti station, guarded by an imposing police cordon: nothing happened.
In Piazza Matteotti, the march split: one section of the procession headed towards Piazza del Carmine, while another—a larger group—took the 195 Racc bypass, which leads to State Road 130. Then the decision was made to return to the city, heading towards the Santa Gilla station.
Here, beneath the L'Unione Sarda newsroom, several hundred young people confronted the police guarding the entrance. It was a diversionary tactic: a large group broke away from the riot police to climb over the wall and invade the tracks.
From there, their procession moved without incident toward Piazza Matteotti, along the tracks. Another roadblock was set up on Via Roma.