Protests spread across Italian cities
On Saturday, 24 October, thousands of people took to the streets in Rome, Milan, Turin, Naples, Bari and Palermo, according to Europa Press, in the second straight weekend of demonstrations. The protests were convened by the movement known as Movimento 17 Ottobre. Europa Press reported that Youssef Siher, an Italian of second-generation descent, has been named as the movement's leader. Clashes broke out in several cities, with Turin and Rome as the main flashpoints.
Turin and Rome bear the brunt of clashes
In Turin, the march set off from piazza Castello in the afternoon and moved through the northern outskirts before reaching corso Principe Oddone, where a police line blocked the route toward Porta Susa. Protesters, whom ANSA described as mostly hooded young people, threw stones, bottles and fireworks, and officers answered with water cannon and tear gas. Groups that tried to advance toward the centre by way of corso Vigevano and piazza Baldissera were pushed back north. Later in the evening, marchers tried to reach via Pietro Micca and via Garibaldi, met blockades, and some reached the cathedral square before police charged. Police detained some protesters for checks, and officers also stopped the van used by the organisers.
In Rome, an unauthorised march near largo Santa Susanna, close to Termini station, ran into a police cordon. Protesters threw bottles, set off firecrackers and tore out road signs, and police responded with water cannon and tear gas before launching charges to disperse the crowd. Europa Press also reported tension near the Colosseum, while a march under the banner 'Italy out of the war', organised by the Eje Antiimperialista, ended without incidents.
Bologna and Milan
In Bologna, barricades went up in via Riva di Reno, where two dumpsters were set alight and firefighters put out the flames at the junction with via delle Lame. A group of hooded youths also wrecked a cigarette vending machine, and around 300 protesters faced police while shopkeepers lowered their shutters and some people stayed inside to stay safe. In Milan, about a hundred mostly peaceful protesters, among them young people and students, began a spontaneous march from Cairoli, which police blocked near the Piccolo Teatro.
Arrests and identifications
Europa Press reported that more than 200 people were identified in the capital, and that 63 were arrested and taken to a police station for possessing material that matched police operational instructions. In Turin, 302 people were identified, 57 of whom had criminal records, and six people are accused of carrying offensive objects or making false statements.
Political reaction
Davide Nicco, president of the Piedmont regional council, condemned the scenes in Turin, citing stones, sticks and bottles thrown at officers, and agents and finance police who were surrounded, along with charges and injuries. He said:
These are violent behaviours, not expressions of dissent.
Nicco argued that anyone who takes to the streets to attack or provoke officers is breaking the law and must answer for it. He added:
Whoever attacks must be condemned, not justified.
He also said that people with public responsibilities must state this clearly, and he expressed full solidarity with officers who wear the uniform every day.