Skip to main content
France - Italy

Over 30 injured in protest over France-Italy rail tunnel

At least 30 Italian police officers, as well as two demonstrators and a construction worker, were injured on Sunday during clashes at a protest at the digging of a high-speed railway tunnel through the Alps.

Advertising

Tens of thousands turned out to oppose work on a tunnel into the Susa Valley which would link Italy to France and allow a new high-speed rail link between the French city of Lyon and Turin in northern Italy.

The link would cut travelling time from Paris to Milan from seven hours to four.

Local people oppose the work and 23 local mayors were present on the demonstration, which was billed as being peaceful.

But clashes broke out and some protesters threw Molotov cocktails, stones and bottles at the police, who responded with Molotov cocktails and water cannon.

Police claim that 2,000 far-left activists, mostly from Italy but also from France, Germany, Spain and Austria, joined the march and that members of the anarchist black blocks, who have a reputation for confronting the police, were involved in the clashes.

Daily newsletterReceive essential international news every morning

Keep up to date with international news by downloading the RFI app

Share :
Page not found

The content you requested does not exist or is not available anymore.