Italy's general strike sparks clashes in Rome and Turin, with 60 police searches in 23 cities

Strike and clashes

The Usb union called a general strike on 30 October against wars and rising living costs, and marches took place in more than 60 cities across Italy. After largely peaceful daytime marches, tension rose in the evening, with bottles thrown at police and charges and water cannon in action in Rome and Turin. In Cagliari, 15,000 people marched against the cost of living and rearmament without any incident, and shops along the shopping streets stayed open. In Bologna, a group of mothers dressed in red joined the march to warn that protesters could be confused with violent ones. Usb put the turnout at more than a million people, saying:

We are a million and a half, let's take back the future.

Charges and identifications

In Rome, police reported seven people and identified 369 others. The charges include aggravated resistance to a public official, wearing a disguise in a public place, carrying objects capable of causing harm, and blocking a road. Protesters sat on the ground on viale Aventino to slow down identifications, and the Questura is also assessing administrative sanctions for the interruption of road and tram traffic there. Many of those identified came from other cities, and the Anticrime Division has started work on possible orders barring them from returning to Rome.

In Turin, the questura reported 12 people and identified 256, and 11 of those identified were taken to police offices. The alleged offences range from failing to obey orders from authorities to disguise, resistance and injuries to public officials. The count also includes preventive operations carried out by state police, finance police and carabinieri.

Searches in 23 cities

Police said Digos and postal police carried out 60 searches in 23 cities on 31 October against people who had incited violence in chats and on social platforms ahead of recent demonstrations. In Florence, three Italian adults were searched in the city and its province. Separately, about ten people were identified and reported for interrupting a tram service during a 24 October march that set out from Santa Maria Novella and occupied tram tracks near the rail yard. In Cagliari, the positions of two young people from the metropolitan city are under review, while investigators keep details tightly guarded.

Rome encampment

Since the afternoon of 30 October, students from the Osa and Cambiare Rotta collectives have occupied via dei Fori Imperiali, a few hundred metres from the Colosseum, with about forty coloured tents. Just over fifty students, young people and workers spent the night there in sleeping bags, and the number of protesters was growing that morning. The students say they do not want the protest to end with the 30 October march and plan to keep the sit-in going at least through Sunday. A national assembly called by Usb is set to take place at the camp on Sunday, 1 November, at 11:00.