Rome and Turin clashes after USB general strike; 60 searches in 23 cities

A general strike across more than 60 cities

The USB union called a general strike against rearmament and rising living costs, and marches took place in more than 60 Italian cities on 30 October. Students, workers, precarious workers, farmers and retirees took part, according to the union. USB said more than one million people marched, while the Interior Ministry counted 255,000. In Bologna, the city's police headquarters (questura) put the turnout at over 20,000 and said about 300 people were identified, with one person placed under a preventive fermo, a short police hold under recent legislation. Some marchers broke through a police cordon near via Stalingrado and entered the ring road, which led to the closure of the stretch between exits 4 and 8 and the matching motorway section for safety. In Milan, protesters occupied the eastern ring road for an hour and a half, and graffiti against Salvini and Meloni appeared along the carriageway.

Clashes in Rome and Turin and injuries in the Veneto

Tensions rose in the evening in Rome and Turin. Near the Colosseum, protesters threw objects at officers and set dumpsters on fire, and water cannon were used in Trastevere and along the Lungotevere Testaccio, where eight people were detained for trying to get past police barriers. In Turin, in piazza Castello, eggs and bottles were thrown at officers, who responded with charges, water cannon and tear gas. Injury counts differ by source. Police chief Antonio Sbordone said seven officers suffered bruises and cuts in Mestre, and four officers were injured in Vicenza, where police used water cannon against marchers trying to occupy the western ring road. The Coisp police union gave a wider total of 11 police officers and two carabinieri injured, including one officer with a fractured hand who needs surgery.

Sixty searches over online calls for violence

On 31 October, Digos and the postal police carried out 60 searches in 23 cities against people who, police said, had urged violence in chats and on social platforms ahead of recent demonstrations. In Florence and its province, three Italian adults over 18 were searched. The Florence march of 24 October had set out from piazza Santa Maria Novella and occupied the tram tracks near the rail yard, and about ten people were identified and reported for interrupting a public service.

In the days before the searches, a 30-year-old man who ran social channels linked to a self-styled 'Movimento 17 ottobre' was detained for inciting crime, but the Milan judge handling preliminary investigations released him. Police said the operation is still under way across Italy, and the Digos in Bologna is continuing checks to establish possible responsibilities.

Government and union reactions

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said the right to demonstrate had been guaranteed despite the violence of some groups, and he credited the ministry's security arrangements with the outcome. Domenico Pianese, general secretary of the Coisp police union, issued a statement on the injuries.

“Once again, the price of violence in the squares has been paid by the uniforms.”

Pianese said the violent groups split off from the marches and move in small groups to multiply pressure points and wear down security deployments. He said their stated aim was to seek confrontation and force blockades to reach institutional buildings, pointing to an attempt to march on Parliament in Rome and action against the Prefecture in Turin.