Report
For ‘No Meloni Day,’ students demonstrated across Italy
Students across Italy staged anti-government protests to denounce Meloni, arms dealers and others for complicity with Israel’s genocide of Palestinians. “Let's build the opposition, let's liberate the country, let's take down the government.”
“Every day is No Meloni Day” for students across Italy. In Turin, they put this slogan on a banner as they marched on Friday morning against the government and to remember the ongoing genocide in Palestine.
Cuts in funding for schools, the increase in mandatory unpaid internships as part of university programs, precariousness for workers and researchers, educational institutions that are looking more and more like industrial facilities than places where free knowledge can be developed: this is what the 500 students from Turin high schools and educational institutions were protesting.
This was one of many demonstrations around Italy: Rome, Milan, Padua, Naples. But the one in Turin featured the most tensions with the police, and there were plenty of protest actions that gave rise to statements of concern from officials in Giorgia Meloni's government.
Here, in front of the regional education office, students set fire to an effigy depicting Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara. But the protesters were pointing a finger at many politicians from across the political spectrum, blaming them not only for the situation in Italy, but also for their complicity in what is happening in Gaza. Photos of Giorgia Meloni, Elly Schlein and Matteo Salvini were all daubed with hands covered in red paint, with the caption “Accomplices to genocide.” Other signs stained with red to depict the blood of the Palestinian people showed Antonio Tajani, Interior Minister Antonio Piantedosi and Defense Minister Guido Crosetto.
The protest took place two days after 50 protesters forcibly entered the Turin headquarters of Leonardo S.p.a., accused of supplying armaments to the Israeli army, and an equal number blocked the entrance: on that occasion, the protesters displayed a banner that read “Leonardo – accomplice to genocide, let’s boycott the war industry.”
The more serious clashes occurred near the end of the march, in front of the Turin Prefecture, where some protesters threw eggs and the police responded first with batons and then with tear gas. A homemade pyrotechnic device was set off, releasing stinging fumes for which eighteen police officers sought emergency room treatment. The march then arrived in front of the RAI headquarters, which was being defended by policemen in riot gear and a number of trucks blocking the street. Here, too, the protesters made their voices heard, demanding that the public be objectively informed about the crimes committed by the Israeli government in Palestine.
At the end, students forced their way into the Cinema Museum at the Mole Antonelliana, ran to the second floor, took down the Italian flag, put up a Palestinian flag in its place and hung a banner reading “The schools know where they stand, against government and genocide,” which had been at the head of the procession the whole time. Protest actions also took place against McDonalds and Burger King, guilty of supporting Israel: students drew graffiti on the exterior of the two fast food restaurants and entered to shout “Free free Palestine,” before finally returning to the Palazzo Nuovo, seat of the humanities faculties, where the protest ended. Tensions remained high, as a regional “Stop Arms to Israel” was set to take place in Turin on Friday evening.
For the rest of the marches scattered throughout the country, there were practically zero clashes between the young protesters and law enforcement, and everything took place entirely peacefully. In Rome, about 2,000 people left from Piazzale Ostiense and marched as far as Viale Trastevere, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Education. Lots of Palestinian flags were present, which were then placed on the walls of the ministry. Halfway through the procession, four young men handcuffed themselves in front of police officers, with red bandanas covering their faces and wearing signs against the security bill around their necks. In the afternoon, teachers also protested in front of the Ministry of Education: there have never been so many precarious workers in the sector.
In Naples there were almost 5,000 students, with a significant presence of teachers, parents and workers in solidarity with their demands. Hundreds also marched in Perugia, with a strong message criticizing the regional administration: “The Umbria Region has never listened to us. The costs for a family keep growing: it’s enough to consider the expense for a school pass for public transport, which sometimes exceed 300 euros,” wrote Lorenzo Ferranti of the Altrascuola middle school student network in Umbria in a press release. There was also good turnout for the protest in Pisa, coming after a highly attended protest at the city's university on Monday, with more than 500 students and precarious workers in attendance. In Ancona, students carried banners with the slogans: “Let's build the opposition, let's liberate the country, let's take down the government.”
An entirely peaceful sit-in was also held in the capital of the Marche region, attended by about 100 people. Genoa saw protests as well, with the two female students chaining themselves in the university lobby to demand that the university open an anti-violence center focused on gender-based violence.
Originally published at https://ilmanifesto.it/per-il-no-meloni-day-gli-studenti-riempiono-cinquanta-piazze on 2024-11-16