Thousands March Across Italy Over Rents, Schools and Defence

Thousands of protesters marched across Italy on Friday over the rising cost of living, cuts to education funding and government spending on defence, France 24 reported. The broadcaster said minor clashes were recorded in the north-western city of Turin while police maintained a heavy presence across the country.

Euronews reported the same day from Rome, where it said thousands marched during a general strike called by the left-wing Unione Sindacale di Base. The union is named in the wire and described only as left-wing; the report gives no membership figure and no estimate of how many of its members stayed away from work.

The Local Italy framed the day around students as much as workers, reporting that thousands took to the streets to demand more school funding and relief from the soaring cost of living, under a police deployment heavy enough to avert possible clashes. Its account puts the emphasis on schools; France 24's puts it on defence.