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- October 30, 202614°
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- October 30, 202614°
Protests intensify across Europe as Rome sees Colosseum barricades and Paris curfew
A general strike in Italy on October 30 escalated into clashes with police in Rome and Bologna, where protesters erected a barricade in front of the Colosseum. Paris imposed a nighttime curfew in parts of the city center until November 2, while stores in Germany covered their windows with wooden panels ahead of Saturday’s protests.
A wave of protests that continued across Europe throughout October intensified again ahead of the weekend. During the October 30 general strike in Italy, police and protesters clashed in Rome and Bologna, while the Paris Police Prefecture imposed a nighttime curfew in parts of the city center until November 2. In Germany, stores in major cities covered their windows with wooden panels ahead of the October 31 demonstrations.
General strike spills into streets in Italy
Organized at the call of the grassroots union USB, the general strike included marches in around 60 cities nationwide. In the capital Rome, a group of approximately 300 people that broke away from the main march threw bottles at police near the Colosseum.
Protesters overturned garbage containers and built a barricade in the Celio district opposite the Colosseum, while trash bins and scooters were set on fire. Police prevented the march from proceeding toward Ponte Sisto bridge. Eight people were detained in the incidents.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said security had been ensured despite groups resorting to violence. During demonstrations in Rome on October 24, police had also used water cannons against groups seeking to march toward the prime minister’s office.
Ring road closed to traffic in Bologna
Bologna was again one of the cities where the strike was most tense. Protesters blocked the city’s ring road, while roads connecting to the A14 and A13 motorways also remained closed to traffic for a time. Clashes broke out between union members carrying red flags and riot police.
Bologna had also seen unrest during the October 24 demonstrations, when several shops and supermarkets in the city were damaged. After two days of unrest in Milan, the government had sent 500 soldiers to support police in the city.
During the strike marches, protesters carried Palestinian flags alongside union banners. Support for Gaza has long been one of the prominent themes of union actions in Italy.
USB’s general strike was the latest in a series of anti-government demonstrations held in Milan, Bologna, Turin and Rome throughout October.
Nighttime curfew imposed in Paris
France went on alert ahead of the weekend. The Paris Police Prefecture imposed a partial curfew from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. between October 31 and November 2, covering the areas around Place de la République and Châtelet-Les Halles. A separate curfew for minors will apply from 9 p.m.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez warned of a “very high risk of urban violence” on Saturday. Between 100,000 and 150,000 protesters are expected to take to the streets in Paris, while authorities did not authorize the march route from Bastille to Nation and redirected processions to the Boulevards of the Marshals surrounding the city.
Some 70,000 police officers and gendarmes will be deployed across France. The demonstrations will be the third consecutive Saturday of protests after those on October 17 and 24. More than 2,500 shops were looted and 2,700 people were detained during the October 17 demonstrations.
German stores cover windows with panels
Security measures were taken on shopping streets in major German cities ahead of the protests scheduled for October 31 under the name “Generation Z.” Luxury stores on Berlin’s Kurfürstendamm were fitted with wooden panels covering their windows.
Some jewelers in Hamburg announced that they would remain closed on Saturday, while shops on Jungfernstieg also covered their windows. Similar measures were taken on Düsseldorf’s Königsallee and in Frankfurt.
Police said they had found no indication of organized looting, while organizers stated that they rejected violence. Because the demonstrations coincide with Halloween, security forces will remain on high alert throughout the weekend.
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