Armoured vehicles rolled up beside the Colosseum in Rome on Friday as tens of thousands of students and workers marched across Italy over living costs, education funding and war, and the government answered with heavy police deployments and new laws that put protesters in prison for up to five years.
The Independent reported demonstrations scheduled in more than 50 cities. Marches ran through Rome, Milan, Turin, Bologna, Genoa and Naples, after weeks of student tent camps and school occupations. A general strike called by the USB trade union pulled workers into the streets alongside them, with truck drivers, taxi drivers and farmers joining in. Thousands marched from Rome's Termini station past the Colosseum, trailed by two tractors and a taxi. Public transport disruption stayed limited on Friday morning.
Who Gets Crushed
Beatrice Chilelli, a 21-year-old university student in Rome, told AFP that students were "at a breaking point." They "can't afford to pay exorbitant tuition fees, and rent... which weighs heavily on their parents' shoulders," she said. Medical students told La Repubblica they were marching after years on temporary contracts, earning €1,300-1,500 a month while paying €900 in rent. Do the sums yourself.
The wider numbers aren't kinder. Prices paid in Italy for food, energy, transport and bills have risen 68 percent since 2000, while the average wage fell by almost 5 percent.
The State's Reply
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government agreed a 175 million euro aid package last week for truck drivers, farmers and fishermen hit by fuel prices linked to the war in the Middle East. The draft 2027 budget includes an annual 2,500 euro bonus for workers under 30. Meloni said she hoped it would give answers to young people "who feel that the state doesn't care about them," and stressed the measures were "not for those who smash windows."
The other half of the response came after clashes in Milan on October 17-18, when groups of mainly young people looted shops and smashed windows. Meloni toughened laws on public gatherings and eased restrictions on detaining minors. According to The Independent, the emergency measures include prison terms of up to five years and fines of €20,000 for joining a protest group that 'endangers public safety'. Parents become financially liable when their children take part in vandalism and looting, and penalties rise where faces are concealed or people are injured.
On the streets, the pattern repeated. Heavy police trucks were rallied to guard a military exhibition at the Circus Maximus, and the Colosseum was locked down after some protesters entered last Saturday. Armoured vehicles guarded the main entrance of Naples central station. In Vicenza, ANSA reported three people injured, one hit in the head by a tear gas canister, after water cannon blocked a march. In Turin, protesters forced their way through a blockade on Via Rossini and officers retreated; manure bins were overturned in front of city hall.
Guns Versus Houses
"We need more houses, not bombs!" one group chanted in Rome. Hundreds gathered outside Milan Polytechnic over the right to education, cost of living and rearmament. Unions issued a joint call with peers in France, Greece, Spain, Turkiye and Morocco for an end to the wars in the Middle East, including Gaza, and "an end to the militarisation of ports." Their statement said: "Ports must not be used for the transport of weapons, ammunition, military equipment and troops. Dockworkers do not work for war!"
In Bologna, student groups used dumpsters to block entrances to several high schools. In Naples, the march left its planned route and headed for the central station, chanting "let's block everything," according to La Stampa. Students in Rome chanted: "Every school will be an occupation, every square will be a revolution." One banner read: "Spain, France, Italy. A new '68 is coming."
Across the Border
The movement isn't contained. The student protests have drawn momentum from similar movements in France and Spain. French interior minister Laurent Nuñez said this week that Saturday looked like a "very high risk" day and that he would again deploy 70,000 security forces. His ministry said 410,000 people marched last Saturday. Labour leaders and students have urged further protests Saturday and a nationwide strike on November 5, six days from today.
One Milan protester said over a megaphone: "We're taking back the city. Let's make a mess. Let's make our voices heard." Rome already has its answer ready: lockdown, prison terms, and a bonus for the under-30s who stay home.
- italy protests
- student protests
- cost of living
- education funding
- general strike
- giorgia meloni
- usb union
- rome