Turin anti-rearmament march turns violent as police make charges and protesters throw objects

The march and its rules

A march against rearmament, the building of new data centres and high petrol prices set off from piazza Castello in Turin on Saturday, 24 October 2026. Students gathered at piazza Arbarello with a banner calling for money for schools rather than war, and joined the head of the march around 15:00 in front of the Prefecture. Families and students took part, and groups of hooded young people arrived later. Chants targeted arms shipments, fuel costs and the data centres.

The Prefecture had banned the sale of drinks in glass bottles or cans and prohibited helmets and face coverings. Shopkeepers along via Roma and nearby streets put protective panels in front of their windows or lowered their shutters.

Clashes in the city centre

Police blocked access to via Po and invited the marchers to continue through the Giardini Reali toward the north of the city. Protesters pushed against the cordons, and police responded with light charges using shields and batons. The first clashes were reported around 15:30, when the police closed access to via Po.

A group then tried to reach the square in front of the Duomo through the narrow passage beside Palazzo Reale. Officers pushed them back with batons, and objects including glass bottles, stones and sticks were thrown at the police. The march then changed course toward via Pietro Micca, while protesters also tried to advance along via Garibaldi, where units were again lined up across the streets.

Some protesters reached the cathedral steps in an attempt to bypass the blocks, and were pushed back with further light charges. Objects were thrown again during that push, and the march later moved toward the northern outskirts.

Aurora and injuries

After about half an hour of calm, new clashes broke out in the Aurora district as the march turned into Dora Savona. Protesters tried to break through a line of police about 100 metres from corso XI Febbraio, and police responded with another light charge. Bottles and stones were thrown again, and some firecrackers were set off. Several protesters were reported injured in the clashes.

The Meloni image and arrests

In piazza Castello, a large photo of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was burned. A hooded protester climbed the monument to the Duke of Aosta and set fire to the image while the crowd chanted slogans against the prime minister. Flags of Rifondazione Comunista and Palestine were widely displayed in the square.

The evening before the march, a figure from the Askatasuna social centre, one of the groups organising the protest, had been placed under house arrest.