Demonstrations across Italy, clashes in Bologna and Turin. The founder of the 17 October Movement is under investigation

Another Saturday of protests in dozens of towns and cities, featuring both authorised marches and impromptu demonstrations. The provisional tally is in the thousands of people taking to the streets to protest against the cost of living, rearmament and war, with moments of high tension in some towns and cities. Alert levels were extremely high following last weekend’s clashes and destruction in Milan. 

In Turin, in Piazza Castello, protesters burnt a photograph of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Police subsequently employed crowd-control charges to disperse a group attempting to reach Via Po and the area around the Duomo. Several young people sustained head injuries and two individuals were arrested. In Bologna, the march set off from Piazza del Nettuno, but after stones and firecrackers were thrown, police responded with tear gas and water cannons.

In Rome, the authorised ‘Keep Italy out of the war’ march ended without incident in Via Cavour. However, a group broke away and made their way to the Colosseum, where several people forced their way through the entrances and past security staff. Outside, there were moments of tension with police in riot gear. Earlier in the day, in the capital, over a hundred young people had been identified. Around 60 people were taken to the police station.

Milan was the city with the heaviest police presence: 5,000 officers, drones and 500 paratroopers from the Folgore Brigade. The student march was held up for a long time by the police in Via Tivoli, whilst a pro-Palestine march of around 600 people set off from Piazza Leonardo da Vinci. In Naples, over 500 people marched to Piazza Municipio, with some scuffles and two firecrackers. In Genoa, around 300 young people took part, and in Florence, around ten people wearing balaclavas were taken to the police station.

In many cities, shops in the city centre – from Prada to Gucci – have protected their shop windows with panels. From the early hours of the morning, over 150 searches had been carried out, mainly in Lombardy, following a chat discovered by the Monza Police Headquarters. In Bari, a group of youths aged between 15 and 18 were stopped whilst wearing balaclavas and carrying fireworks; in Padua, four minors were found with firecrackers.

The alleged founder of the ‘17 October Movement’ has also been identified: Youssef Siher, a 30-year-old man from Brescia who is under investigation for incitement to commit a criminal offence for the purposes of terrorism. He is believed to be the author of the Movement’s manifesto, which draws inspiration (among other things) from the Arab Spring. Siher was not a contributor to Il Foglio, for which he published a single article in April 2022. “His identification by the police demonstrates the great skills of our investigators and reaffirms a clear and unequivocal message: there will be no safe havens, and the state’s response will be immediate against anyone who thinks they can organise attacks and riots whilst believing they can hide behind a balaclava or the anonymity of social media,” commented Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi.