Turin prefect bans No Tav camping after clashes, activists defy order in Venaus

The prefect's three ordinances

On the morning of 30 July, Turin prefect Donato Cafagna signed three urgent ordinances in response to the clashes that erupted on Saturday 25 July at the Chiomonte construction site and along the highway during the Festival dell'Alta Felicità. The first bans free camping across the entire territory of Susa and Bussoleno from midnight on 30 July until 7:00 on Monday 3 August, citing urgent public order and security needs. The second, effective from 8:00 on 30 July, prohibits possession without justified reason of face-concealing items (helmets, gas masks, balaclavas) and objects usable as blunt instruments, smoke bombs or explosive material in the municipalities of Bruzolo, Bussoleno, Chiomonte, Giaglione, San Didero and Susa. A third ordinance forbids organised access on foot to roads, car parks, countryside areas and paths near the Tav construction sites in Susa, Giaglione and Chiomonte.

Activists relocate to Venaus

The camping had been announced by members of the No Tav movement together with exponents of the former Turin social centre Askatasuna, and was scheduled to run for three days, ending with a "serata di lotta" on Saturday. After the ban was posted near the San Giuliano presidio, about fifty young people gathered in the centre of Susa to discuss their next move. By around 12:30 they had transferred to the nearby municipality of Venaus and begun pitching tents and hammocks. The areas originally intended for the camp, at San Giuliano and Traduerivi, remained under the control of riot police units throughout the morning.

Police move in at Venaus

Shortly after the camp was set up, riot police arrived at Venaus with seven vans, one Carabinieri van and several off-road vehicles. Officers asked the activists to leave. Over a loudspeaker, the activists relayed the police's reasoning:

It is (according to the police) a place too evocative, after what happened in recent days.

The activists stated they did not intend to abandon the area. A few dozen of them briefly blocked provincial road 210 for a few minutes while talking to plainclothes officers, then returned to their tents. The situation remained calm.

Ban extended to Venaus

Later in the afternoon, the prefect issued a new ordinance extending the free-camping prohibition to the entire territory of Venaus, effective immediately until 7:00 on Monday 3 August. The order explicitly referenced the fact that the 25 July march had started from the Venaus campsite, drawing thousands of participants, including some from abroad.

EU reaction

EU Transport Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas posted a statement on X condemning the violence:

Violence and intimidation have no place in Europe. The attacks against the Lyon-Turin project are unacceptable and cannot undermine a strategic investment that serves millions of Europeans. As a key element of the Mediterranean Corridor and the TEN-T, the project will improve connections between countries, make the transport of people and goods more efficient and strengthen the European transport network. Full solidarity with Telt, our Italian and French partners and all those who work every day to realise this European link.