Masked Protesters Attack No Tav Construction Site, Police Vehicles Torched

The construction site for the Torino-Lyon high-speed rail project in Chiomonte, Susa Valley, became the scene of intense conflict as hundreds of masked and helmeted individuals launched a multi-front assault. The protesters, dressed in black and equipped with gas masks, set fire to two Carabinieri vehicles during the ongoing clashes.

Law enforcement responded by repelling the attacks from within the construction site, deploying tear gas and water cannons. The demonstrators retaliated by throwing stones, bottles, and launching fireworks, including homemade mortar rounds. Authorities managed to block a group of about a hundred protesters, while a larger contingent was stopped further away in Bruzolo, preventing them from reaching the immediate vicinity of the construction site. Some barriers were also damaged.

In response to the escalating public order situation, the Sitaf highway concessionaire closed the A32 Torino-Bardonecchia highway between the Oulx and Susa Est exits. Earlier, hundreds of activists, described as belonging to the more radical wing of the No Tav movement, had thrown stones and fireworks at police guarding the San Didero construction site, leading to initial tensions that lasted about twenty minutes.

The demonstration, dubbed a 'march towards the construction sites of devastation' by its organizers, began in the early afternoon from Venaus. Organizers claimed participation numbers reached twenty thousand. The march, coinciding with the tenth edition of the 'Alta Felicità' festival, featured musical and cultural events scheduled to continue through the next day. The banner at the front of the procession declared: 'We were there, we are here, we will be there. Now and always No Tav.'