Italian PM deploys troops as country faces widespread strikes, port blockades

ROME — Tens of thousands of people were preparing to take to the streets of Rome, Milan and other Italian cities Friday in nationwide protests against the cost of living and high military spending.

After several weeks of violent protests in Italy and across Europe, wider disruptions are expected after Unione Sindacale di Base (USB) and other unions called on public and private sector workers to strike and protest.

The protests in Italy appear to have been partly inspired by those in France, where some of the worst riots in decades broke out in several cities across the country after student protests over the state of education in the country evolved into broader actions over the cost of living and social security.

Elsewhere in Europe, a huge tent encampment has occupied a square in Madrid since late last month, and thousands of people in Portugal took to the streets of the city of Lisbon. Tear gas and water cannons were also used against black-clad protesters in Brussels.

In Rome, many waved communist and Palestinian flags, as well as signs against the war in Iran. Some released pink smoke bombs. There was a jovial mood among the protesters as they lined up before the march, as has often been the case at the start of previous demonstrations, before violence later erupted.

Giovanna Di Matteo, member of the Potere al Popolo of the left! party, said she was protesting against the government which “has done nothing for the people of this country”.

The government has spent money on the military “while it cuts welfare, it cuts services and people can’t make it to the end of the month,” she said. “They don’t have money for their houses, they don’t have money for gas and everything. »

Major protests were also expected in 50 other cities and towns across Italy, while demonstrators were also expected to block ports in Genoa, Livorno, Trieste and elsewhere.

It comes after a number of protests turned violent in recent weeks. Groups of masked protesters looted stores in Milan and elsewhere and threw projectiles at police, who responded with tear gas and water cannons earlier this month.

Italian police were out in force again on Friday with riot squads, drones and helicopters visible in the skies above the Rome protest.

Protesters also stormed Rome’s historic Colosseum on Saturday, while in the south, farmers and truckers blocked highways and ports to protest rising fuel prices since the United States and Israel began the war against Iran.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has made law and order a key principle of her administration, said she had “great respect” for peaceful protesters in X earlier this month.

But his right-wing government has since introduced tougher penalties for rioters, including financial responsibility for parents whose children participate in vandalism and looting.

“There is nothing revolutionary about vandalism and theft. Vandalism and theft are not protests, they are crime,” Meloni said on social media after unveiling the bill.

The government also announced it would deploy 500 soldiers alongside police in Milan until the end of the year.