Thousands of students, workers hold peaceful protests in Italy

ROME – Thousands of students and workers took to the streets across Italy on Oct 30, calling for more school funding and relief from the soaring cost of living, in massive protests that remained mostly peaceful.

The protests were the biggest in a recent wave of demonstrations inspired by those in France and Spain, led by students who have set up tent camps and occupied schools to make their demands heard.

A general strike called by Italy’s USB trade union drew thousands of workers to Oct 30’s protests, including truck drivers, taxi drivers and farmers who have rallied in recent weeks over the spike in fuel prices and to oppose rising defence spending.

The USB union estimated that between one million and 1.5 million people across Italy participated on Oct 30. The authorities did not publish official numbers.

Roman student Sofia Cataldi said conditions at her high school were not safe. “We don’t want windows falling on our heads, and we don’t want mice in our schools. We want clean buildings, and I want to live in a better world than this one,” said the 16-year-old.

University student Beatrice Chilelli said students were “at a breaking point”. “They can’t afford to pay exorbitant tuition fees, and rent... which weighs heavily on their parents’ shoulders,” said the 21-year-old, citing student housing in Rome that could reach €1,200 (S$1,710) per month for a single room.

Two tractors and a taxi were at the start of the Rome procession that began at the main train station and made its way past the Colosseum and the Economy Ministry building, with protesters waving flags and shouting into megaphones.

“We need more houses, not bombs!” sang one group in the crowd.

‘Reclaim our future’

The Milan protest also began at the central train station, but then headed outside the city – far from the centre where young vandals had looted stores, destroyed property and clashed with police two weeks ago after another sanctioned cost-of-living demonstration.

“Let’s reclaim our future,” read one banner unfurled by students in Milan.

In the Milan crowd was Stefano De Finis, 25, who said he hoped the various protests would lead to something “lasting”.

“Because next year, we’ll have elections and honestly, when it comes to voting for real change, we don’t know how it can happen,” he said.

“The problem is that in Italy there are many elderly people and few young people, so we need to make sure the elderly start getting mobilised... otherwise we’re alone in this struggle,” he said, citing the political power of Italy’s ageing union workers.

Across the country, police in riot gear were seen on the sidelines of the various protests.

In one of the few reported clashes, protesters in Turin were beaten back with batons by the police, who used a water cannon to keep them away from the prefecture.

In Rome, AFP reporters saw young protesters throwing bottles and knocking over rubbish bins and setting one on fire towards the end of the demonstration.

Following the Oct 17 to Oct 18 weekend of clashes between youth and police in Milan, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s hard-right government toughened laws on public gatherings while easing rules on detaining minors.

The government also last week agreed a €175.2 million aid package for truck drivers, farmers and fishermen hit by soaring fuel prices linked to the war in the Middle East.

Measures in favour of young people and families are also planned in the draft 2027 budget being discussed among the various governing parties, such as an annual bonus of €2,500 for workers under 30.

“I hope this can provide answers for young people in general... who feel that the state doesn’t care about them,” Meloni told journalists on Oct 28, stressing that these measures were “not for those who smash windows”. AFP