Italian Protesters Clash Near Colosseum as 50 Cities Join Cost-of-Living Strike

Armoured vehicles stood near the Colosseum on Friday as thousands of protesters marched through central Rome as part of a nationwide strike called by the Unione Sindacale di Base. Demonstrations took place in roughly fifty cities. Organisers reported about 20,000 people in the capital. The main demands were higher wages, stronger public services and reduced military spending.

Students, high-schoolers and farmers joined the marches. In Rome the column moved from Piazza dei Cinquecento toward the historic centre. Some protesters set up tents near the Colosseum and said they intended to remain over the weekend. Slogans called for every school to become an occupation and every square a revolution. Placards criticised the government of Giorgia Meloni over living costs and rearmament.

Tensions rose in the afternoon. On Via Claudia, about fifty hooded youths set fire to rubbish bins and threw bottles at police. Later a spontaneous march of roughly two thousand people from Trastevere tried to reach the centre. Officers pushed them back at Ponte Sisto and used water cannon. Eight people were detained after repeated attempts to break barricades, according to the ANSA news agency.

In Turin, police deployed a water cannon against students and left-wing activists who approached the prefecture. Similar scenes occurred in Milan, Bologna and other cities. Most of the day remained peaceful, but the presence of armoured vehicles near the Colosseum and the Circus Maximus reflected official concern after earlier incidents in which protesters entered the ancient amphitheatre on 24 October.

The strike followed weeks of smaller actions. On 24 October, demonstrators briefly entered the Colosseum while tourists were inside; police escorted them out within minutes. Police said they arrested nine people and briefly detained 371 others, including 110 minors, during that weekend. The current wave combines cost-of-living anger, opposition to increased defence budgets and, in some groups, pro-Palestinian flags.

Meloni's government has faced criticism over rising prices and the level of public investment. Labour leaders and student organisations have called for further protests on Saturday and a nationwide strike on 5 November. Interior officials have not released a full national arrest total for Friday. Local reports listed scattered detentions and injuries to officers and protesters.

The Colosseum area was placed under tighter control after last week's entry. Heavy police trucks protected a military exhibition at the nearby Circus Maximus. Protesters said they planned continuous presence through the weekend. By evening the main authorised marches had ended, but small groups continued to move through side streets.

The next major action is scheduled for 5 November. Authorities have not announced new concessions on wages or public services. The size of turnout in the coming days will indicate whether the current wave of European protests is spreading or beginning to recede. In Rome the physical presence of armoured vehicles beside one of the city's most visited monuments underscored the government's determination to keep the historic centre open and controlled.