Lyon-Turin rail protest caused €1m damage, project company says

A protest against the Lyon-Turin railway project in Italy caused about one million euros in damage at a construction site, Franco-Italian company Telt said after weekend clashes in Piedmont’s Susa Valley.

Thousands of people protested on Saturday against the railway near the French border. Italian authorities said several hundred people attacked police protecting the site at Chiomonte, west of Turin.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited the site on Monday with Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi and said more than 120 officers had been injured. She described the clashes as “organised, premeditated violence” and said authorities would seek to bring those involved to justice.

Italian news agency ANSA reported that four people had been arrested. Telt said a preliminary investigation put the damage at about one million euros, but said it had not yet assessed how long it would take to clear rubble and restore work areas and services in the tunnel. The company said around 10 workers at the site on Saturday were evacuated and brought to safety.

The Lyon-Turin rail project is intended to cut travel times and reduce road and air travel in the Alpine region, but has faced opposition for more than 30 years.