Hundreds attack TAV construction sites in Italy; dozens injured

Violent clashes erupted in the Susa Valley, Italy, as hundreds of masked anti-high-speed rail (TAV) activists stormed construction sites, engaging in what has been described as guerrilla warfare. The demonstrators employed Molotov cocktails and set fire to police vehicles, resulting in injuries to approximately fifty law enforcement officers in what was characterized as a significant battle.

“

Today we witnessed the umpteenth scene of violence against law enforcement, after those recorded in recent days. It is the confirmation of a will, on the part of someone, to create an escalation that requires maximum attention.

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi strongly condemned the violence, stating, "Today we witnessed the umpteenth scene of violence against law enforcement, after those recorded in recent days. It is the confirmation of a will, on the part of someone, to create an escalation that requires maximum attention." He urged for a "unified, clear, and unambiguous position from all political forces and institutions" to isolate those inciting violence, warning that failure to do so would embolden the perpetrators.

“

Ours is a call for a unified, clear, and unambiguous position from all political forces and institutions. Isolating those who fuel violence must be a shared duty, beyond any affiliation.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni echoed these sentiments on social media, asserting that "violence will not bend the state" and that those who serve Italy "will never be left alone." She emphasized that those attacking law enforcement, throwing firebombs, and setting state vehicles ablaze were not defending an idea but attacking the state itself.

“

Those who throw firecrackers, set state vehicles on fire, and assault law enforcement officers are not defending an idea, they are attacking the state.

The clashes, which occurred at the Chiomonte and San Didero construction sites, involved individuals described as belonging to the "Blocco Nero," heirs to the Black Bloc movement. The anti-TAV demonstration, dubbed "march towards the construction sites of devastation" by organizers, reportedly drew twenty thousand participants. Among them were extremist elements who launched firecrackers, rockets, stones, and numerous incendiary bottles at the police. The most intense confrontations took place in Chiomonte, where activists managed to breach the construction site perimeter and set fire to at least two police vans. The violence followed the departure of the main No TAV procession, organized on the sidelines of the tenth edition of the Festival Alta Felicità.

“

Violence will not bend the state: those who serve Italy will never be left alone.