Major anti-government protests sweep across Italy

Farmers dumped manure on the streets of Turin on Friday as mass demonstrations unfurled across more than 50 cities in Italy.

Fired up by a wave of similar protests elsewhere in Europe, tens of thousands of Italians took to the streets to protest soaring living costs and the poor state of public services such as healthcare and education.

Friday’s nationwide action was spearheaded by the anti-capitalist trade union Unione Sindacale di Base (USB), and included workers across the public and private sectors.

Transport workers had been slated to join the pickets too, but abandoned plans after Transport Minister Matteo Salvini threatened the sector with sanctions. The USB urged taxi drivers to go ahead with strikes, despite them receiving a similar warning.

The largest rallies took place in Milan, Turin and the capital of Rome, where young and old united to vent their anger at Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her right-wing government.

Demonstrators in Milan held placards bearing anti-government slogans, “Let’s oust the Meloni government—rebellion is just,” one read. In Naples, some protesters burnt photos of Meloni.

Italy’s Interior Ministry said “preventative” arrests were made ahead of the marches to quell violence. Apart from a few isolated skirmishes, the demonstrations were largely peaceful as they continued into the afternoon.

When some youngsters in Rome tried to set a dumpster on fire, others quickly extinguished the blaze, keen to avoid the type of violence that has marred similar protests in France.

A strong anti-war sentiment was in evidence, with many protesters waving Palestinian flags as they marched. Others held banners opposing the government’s military spending.

While Friday’s industrial action has been nationwide, demands have varied from one location to the next.

In the northern city of Genoa, dockworkers mobilized against the “militarization” of the port in a bid to block the export of Italian-made arm shipments to conflict zones, including Israel.

But in nearby Bologna, students called on the government to review education policy.

Protests have swept through Europe in recent weeks as hundreds of thousands of people have demanded government action to ease the rising cost of living.

Demonstrations in France began in late September with teachers and students protesting a lack of investment in education and woeful working conditions. The protests have since escalated to reflect wider cost-of-living concerns .

A deepening housing crisis has triggered demonstrations across Spain and Portugal, with activists erecting encampments in the capitals’ central plazas.

Albania has seen a series of anti-government protests, with thousands taking to the streets to highlight alleged government corruption and to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama.

And in Serbia, youth protests were effective in ousting long-standing leader Aleksandar Vučić last weekend.