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In Photos: The Battle Against Austerity Hits Rome

Even with PM Renzi taking the reins, nothing has changed according to protesters — one of the underlying reasons of discontent.

by Leonardo Bianchi
Apr 14 2014, 7:20pm

Photo by Riccardo De Luca

This article originally appeared on VICE Italy.

On April 12, an array of parties and political groups belonging to Italy's far left paraded angrily through the streets of Rome. They'd gathered to protest against what they feel are destabilizing austerity measures brought in by the new Italian coalition government led by Democratic Party leader, Matteo Renzi.

The demonstrators have been particularly enraged by something called the “Jobs Act,” which Renzi believes will simplify the country's labor system and cut unemployment. Unfortunately, it seems he wishes to do this by eliminating some workers' rights that make businesses less inclined to hire employees on a full-time basis.


Clashes erupt during anti-austerity protests in Rome. Read more here.



Thousands of Italians staged an anti-austerity protest in Rome on April 12.

Italy’s new anti-torture law isn’t quite up to scratch. Read more here.


Depending on who you believe, anywhere between 12,000 and 20,000 protesters began their march at 4PM.


Monitored by an impressive number of police, the parade wended its way to the Ministry of Finance headquarters, where everyone celebrated by pelting the cops with eggs and oranges.


The protesters throw eggs and oranges at police.


Protesters threw eggs, bottles and firecrackers at the police, who for a while stood still without reacting. Meanwhile, those at the end of the demo dropped their caps, goggles and gas masks, while others put on blue windbreakers and got to fighting the police. I'm still unsure about the meaning of the blue windbreakers; it's something I've never seen at an Italian demonstration.



It only takes a few seconds because the atmosphere changes abruptly.


I saw a mother rip her son from her arms and take refuge in a side street.

Several people fell and were arrested by the police.

The square empties quickly. The sidewalks are completely clogged.


The main street had been turned into a battlefield covered with blood, shoes, scarves and other items. A rumour began to circulate that the police had “chopped off a man’s hand". Later, I discovered that the victim had in fact been injured by a firecracker he was trying to throw, and was a 47-year-old Peruvian named Juan Zabaleta, who lives with his family in an occupied building.

By that point, the demonstration was pretty much over. The procession returned to Porta Pia with no moments of tension.


Dozens of police and protesters had been injured (one of whom severely), while six people were arrested.

The demonstration has split the Italian public. Some people really didn't like seeing Vittorio Veneto Street — "one of Rome's most famous streets" – being "harassed and vandalized." The Minister of Infrastructure, Maurizio Lupi, declared the protesters to be "criminals and villains:" "After facing the umpteenth clash in Rome, we must have the courage to say that whoever occupies a house without authorization is committing a crime," he declared.


People weren't slow to criticize the police, either. Journalist Fiorenza Sarzani, from the newspaper Corriere della Sera, argued, "What should concern us is the behaviour of the police, who allowed the protesters to stay way over 15 minutes in Vittorio Veneto Street and then rushed the crowd instead of clearing them out.


The leaders of the movement have declared that April 12 is just "the beginning of the protest against the Renzi Government" — a protest that "must grow" within the months to come. It seems that Italy's new Prime Minister will receive many other unwanted visits to his front doorstep, like the one on Saturday.