Overview

• USB’s general strike drew very large crowds across more than 70 cities, with organizers citing up to about one million participants and coordinated blockades at ports, stations and major roads.
• In Milan, clashes at Stazione Centrale caused extensive damage and about 60 police injuries, shifting attention from the nationwide peaceful turnout to security and accountability.
• Arrest figures remain contested, with outlets reporting between three and around ten detainees, as Digos and the Milan prosecutor’s office analyze surveillance and police videos to identify additional suspects.
• Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi described the Milan violence as a deliberate attack by violent fringes, with reports pointing to anarchists, centri sociali, student groups and many young people of immigrant background.
• Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini proposed requiring organizers to pay a ‘cauzione’ to cover damages, a move praised by allies but flagged by critics as raising constitutional and legal doubts given past court rulings on strike limits.