Rome. Thousands of students took to the streets in various Italian cities on Friday, demanding an increase in the education budget, housing facilities and control over the rising cost of living. Security agencies are alert to prevent possible clashes.
The students have been protesting for a few weeks by occupying the school and erecting tents and setting up camps. They protested Prime Minister Georgia Meloni’s government’s rearmament policy, education budget cuts and rising costs. Truck drivers and farmers are also protesting against the increase in fuel prices and the cost of living.
18-year-old Laura Teresi, spokeswoman for the student union at Rome’s Cavour school, said a large number of students would take to the streets and block the school on Friday. In Milan on October 17 and 18, youths torched vehicles and looted shops, and authorities are concerned that violence could flare up again.
According to Professor Rosario Forlenza, the economic, social and cultural crisis has increased uncertainty and hopelessness about the future among young people. They complain that they do not get enough political representation and the leadership ignores their problems.
Meanwhile, the left-wing labor organization USB has called for a general strike on Friday. The government has eased the process of detaining minors in order to control demonstrations and tightened the law on public gatherings.
The government has approved an aid package of 175.2 million euros for truck drivers, farmers and fishermen affected by the rise in fuel prices due to the war in the Middle East. In the proposed budget of 2027, a plan to give an annual bonus of 2,500 euros to workers under the age of 30 is also included.
Prime Minister Meloni expressed her hope that government measures will help the youth who feel neglected by the state. However, she has made it clear that there are no such facilities for those involved in vandalism.
Psychiatrist Matteo Lancini has stated that schools have moved away from the needs of the youth and emphasized that fundamental changes should be made in the educational system by placing the needs of the youth at the center rather than the pension system. He commented that they are trying to escape from the real cause of youth dissatisfaction by blaming only social media. -AFP