A day of high tension and risk of paralysis for Italy, grappling with the wave of strikes proclaimed by students to protest against the high cost of living, the cap on foreign students and the degradation of school facilities. Crowded squares from Naples and Turin, where the first clashes with the police took place yesterday. In the South, however, the protests of hauliers over high fuel costs are raging. Blocks planned in Puglia, Campania and Calabria and Sicily. Fridays for Future marches are also underway in dozens of cities. The aim of the mobilization, in this case, is to send a message about the climate emergency witnessed by the extreme heat waves which caused over 30 thousand deaths in Europe this summer.
Thousands of students gathered this morning in Piazza XVIII Dicembre, in Turin, to take part in "No Meloni Day", a day of mobilization against the war and to ask the government to allocate the economic resources provided for defense to the school. The protest takes place in a climate of strong tension, after the recent acts of vandalism which affected some institutions in the city, leading to the arrest of a 17 year old and the identification of other young people, many of whom were not involved in the peaceful occupations of schools, around twenty in the entire province of Turin. In view of today's procession, in which No Tav and pro-Palestine activists also participate, the prefecture has issued a ban on wearing helmets, masks and other objects that could prevent face recognition and during the morning the police identified around fifteen young people who showed up with their faces covered. After the start of the demonstration, some sheets depicting Giorgia Meloni, other government representatives, the secretary of the Democratic Party Elly Schlein and the Leonardo logo were placed on the ground. A group of students then dipped their hands in red paint, imprinting them on the images while shouting: "You are the shame of Italy". At the moment there are no disturbances, with police in riot gear guarding the procession.
"We are exhausted. Today we are here protesting to shake up the whole country. We are asking the government for a structural reform of the sector, the reduction of fuel costs and tariffs suited to production costs". This is what Domenico Notaro, spokesperson for Calabria for Fedralog, the regional logistics federation which promoted the hauliers' protest against expensive fuel starting today and until October 20th, together with the counterpart federations of Puglia, Sicily and Basilicata, told Adnkronos. Since the early hours of the morning there have been around twenty truck stations active in all the provinces of Calabria: among others, the Falerna motorway junction, the area of the Lamezia Terme airport, Marcellinara, the Vibo Valentia refinery, Pizzo, Sant'Onofrio, Passovecchio, in the Crotone area, the port of Gioia Tauro, various points of the SS 18 along the Tyrrhenian Sea of Cosenza, the junctions of Sibari, Frascineto, Castrovillari, San Marco Argentano. The mobilization of the hauliers adds to that of the farmers, which has been going on for over ten days. "From March to today we have spent an average of two thousand euros more on diesel per means of transport - explains Notaro -. By multiplying this figure by the total number of vehicles of each company, it is easy to understand how companies have suffered drastic losses in turnover, which have not been compensated for in any other way". Fedralog also complains about the lack of listening by the central government and trade associations; even the Calabria Region, despite having opened a minimal window of opportunity for dialogue, would not have done enough to deal with the crisis: in the opinion of the Federation, the 15 million euros allocated against the high cost of fuel, of which 5 for companies in the agricultural sector and 10 for the road transport sector, are a 'buffer' intervention, which "does not solve the problem, it only postpones it". Together with the workers in the logistics sector, Calabrian farmers, breeders and fishermen also stop and join the protests: "We have come together to have greater support and to convey our requests to the central government, from which we have been waiting for a sign for more than two weeks - declares Matteo Talarico, representative of the Territory and Agriculture Movement -. We ask for an extraordinary measure and an imminent relief to deal with the crisis but, in general, we ask for an overall reform of the agricultural sector for the minimum price and to resolve the structural problems that we have been carrying with us since 2022. Production costs have skyrocketed and we can no longer afford to work below cost", adds Talarico. In the absence of answers, the blockade, scheduled until October 20, the representatives say, could continue indefinitely. Traffic inconveniences and slowdowns are occurring at the focal points of the protest, which are constantly monitored by the police. Meanwhile, concern among consumers is growing, with supermarket shelves progressively emptying due to the blockage of supplies and large-scale distribution, and the rush to procure essential goods and foods.
The protest proclaimed by hauliers and farmers against the high cost of fuel, the increase in management costs and the growth in the cost of living has come to life in Catania and the province. The first traffic disruptions are recorded in the northern industrial area of the Etna capital, in the area of the Ikea entrance, where several heavy vehicles are stopped, creating severe slowdowns. The mobilization puts the spotlight on the growing economic difficulties of companies in the sector, a strategic hub for the logistics and distribution of goods on the island. At the same time, the demonstration of land workers and truck drivers of Caltagirone and nearby municipalities has been underway since this morning. A long procession of tractors set off from the Calatino garrison to travel along state roads 417 "Catania-Gela" and 385, reaching the roundabout in Castelluccio. The transit of agricultural vehicles is causing inevitable queues and traffic slowdowns. The hauliers do not ask for welfare, but dignity, protection and immediate responses. If we stop, not only the local economy will stop, but the entire regional, national and European system will be brought to its knees.
