Violent Clashes Erupt at Turin-Lyon Rail Project Site; PM Meloni Condemns Attack

Tensions flared violently at the construction site of the Turin-Lyon high-speed rail project in Chiomonte, Italy, as hundreds of anti-TAV activists launched an assault. Many participants were masked and clad in black, engaging in clashes with law enforcement.

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Those who throw firecrackers, set state vehicles on fire, and attack law enforcement are not defending an idea, they are attacking the state. In Chiomonte, after what happened in Bologna in recent days, once again women and men in uniform have been the target of violence by hooded delinquents. To them goes my solidarity and that of the Government. Violence will not bend the state: those who serve Italy will never be left alone.

During the ongoing confrontation, two police vans were set ablaze. Authorities responded with tear gas and water cannons to repel the activists, who retaliated by throwing stones, bottles, and fireworks, including homemade mortars. Several groups of activists were intercepted by police, preventing them from reaching the immediate vicinity of the construction site. The highway A32 was closed between Oulx and Susa Est due to public order concerns.

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Unacceptable. These are the poisonous and violent fruits of a left that for too long has fueled hatred and delegitimization against law enforcement and those who wear a uniform. Full solidarity with the agents.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni strongly condemned the violence, asserting that "violence will not bend the state" and expressing solidarity with the police officers targeted. Deputy Prime Ministers Matteo Salvini and Antonio Tajani criticized the actions, with Salvini attributing the "poisonous and violent fruits" to a left-wing that allegedly fuels "hatred and delegitimization" against law enforcement. The activists, who organized the march as part of the 'Alta Felicità' festival, claimed to be twenty thousand participants.

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It is shameful and unacceptable guerrilla warfare