ROME – Several protestors were arrested in Milan Friday as student demonstrators clashed with police and a group of protestors dressed as Father Christmas targeted Pirelli headquarters.

 The march had been peaceful until it arrived in front of local government buildings in Milan’s piazza Duca d’Aosta, when the crowd, believed to be most students, began to set off flares. Ansa reports that police responded with tear gas.

 Meanwhile the group of around twenty young people dressed as Father Christmas broke into the Pirelli offices skyscraper compound, throwing bottles and other objects.

The national strike organised by Italy’s two largest unions brought many cities to a standstill and thousands on to the streets on Friday, as Prime Minister Renzi warned that “without reform we are condemning ourselves to decline.”

 Public transport, schools, non-emergency health services, offices, the magnitude of Friday’s strike has perhaps outstripped those of recent months, effecting almost every sector across the country. Some 54 marches were scheduled across the country, covering every region and every major city.

 Renzi, speaking on Thursday to a group of Italian entrepreneurs, said that, “We need to have the courage to change and examine the things which aren’t working, without sweeping everything under the carpet.”

 Head of the CGIL union Susanna Camusso was due to take part in the protests in Turin, where some 30,000 people were expected to join her. Two hundred coaches were arranged for Friday morning to bring protestors from across Piedmont into the region’s capital.

 The strike has been called to protest government reforms, in particular that of the controversial Jobs Act, which aims to tackle high levels of unemployment and short-term labour contracts. Opponents claim that the reforms compromise workers’ rights.

 Speaking in a radio interview, Camusso condemned the government’s lack of communication with the unions, also saying that, “the priority which they have told the country is at the basis of everything, the need for work, doesn’t correspond with the measures the government is taking.”

 She added, “I must make it clear that we are not going to stop. We will continue to oppose bad decisions in order to have job opportunities in this country.”

 Secretary of the UIL union Carmello Barbagallo was meanwhile in Rome, leading a march which began Friday morning and was expected to end in the early afternoon. He chose to emphasise the range of backgrounds and lifestyles of those choosing to strike, which included “millions of workers who skipped work, as well as pensioners, together with students.”

 The march was a wave of colour with red balloons for CGIL and blue for UIL, alongside “Renzi-Pinocchio” balloons mocking the Prime Minister.

 In the capital, the metro system was completely closed, whilst other means of public transport were running on reduced services. It is estimated that across the country some 50 percent of train and air travel has been cancelled, whilst 70 percent of bus services have been affected. The strike began at 9.00 Friday morning, and was due to finish at 17.00.