Over 100 officers injured during violent clashes at high speed construction site near Turin

 ROME – Violent clashes broke out in the Susa Valley, near Turin, between Italian and French protesters opposing the construction of a high-speed railway between Lyon and Turin, with protesters injuringg over 100 law enforcement officers and causing over a million euros damage at construction sites, police sources said.

 Over 20,000 people, including French nationals, participated in the No TAV protest at construction sites in Salbertrand, San Didero and Chiomonte in the Susa Valley against the construction of a 35.7-mile-long tunnel through the French and Italian Alps from Val Susa in Italy to Val Maurienne in France.

 Several hundred activists threw stones and firecrackers at officers deployed to protect the sites, as well as using homemade mortars. Over 120 law enforcement officers were injured, including 58 police officers, 48 Carabinieri and 20 members of the Guardia di Finanzia. Four law enforcement vehicles were set on fire. Law enforcement responded to attacks with water cannons and tear gas and after more than an hour of violent clashes the protestors withdrew.

 The procession started in Venaus and headed towards “the construction sites of devastation.” Protestors blocked the Turin-Bardonecchia motorway between Oulx and Susa and the railway at Bruzolo, causing widespread disruption to travel.

 The company responsible for the construction works, Tunnel Euralpin Lyon Turin, said on Sunday that none of their workers were injured during the protests. They added that estimated costs of the damage are over a million euros at the Chiomonte construction site alone.

 Protestors are against the construction of the high-speed line for a variety of reasons, including environmental disasters, hypothesised presence of uranium and asbestos in the mountains and economic feasibility.

 Construction of the railway is expected to be completed in 2032.

 khg