Italy protests draw thousands over schools and costs

Thousands of students and workers protested across Italy on Friday, demanding more school funding and relief from the rising cost of living as police deployed in force to prevent clashes.

Marches took place in cities including Bologna, Genoa, Naples, Turin, Rome and Milan. A general strike called by the USB trade union drew workers including truck drivers, taxi drivers and farmers.

In Turin, minor skirmishes occurred between protesters and riot police at the start of the protest. No major clashes had been reported by midday.

In Rome, thousands left Termini train station with two tractors and a taxi, passing the Colosseum and the Economy Ministry. In Milan, protesters began at the central train station before heading away from the city centre, where young vandals had looted stores, damaged property and clashed with police two weeks earlier after another cost-of-living demonstration.

The protests followed weeks of student-led demonstrations, tent camps and school occupations. Demonstrators called for action on tuition fees, rents, fuel prices and education cuts, while some also opposed rising defence spending.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government recently toughened laws on public gatherings after earlier clashes in Milan and approved a 175.2-million-euro aid package for truck drivers, farmers and fishermen hit by higher fuel prices.