Turin, clashes between police and demonstrators at the Askatasuna rally, nine officers injured

Delegations arrived from other cities, such as Milan, Genoa and the North East. There were numerous No Tav and Palestine flags. Also in the procession was Avs Regional Council group leader Alice Ravinale. Before the departure there were several speeches at the microphone, including a representative of the parents of the Vanchiglia neighbourhood committee who recalled how three schools were closed for the operation.

According to the organisers, there were 10,000 people in the streets of Piedmont's capital; about 3,000 for the Questura. Different numbers but indicating in any case a large participation in the procession against the eviction of Askatasuna.

During the event from the loudspeakers the organisers played a message of solidarity from Zerocalcare. 'I cannot imagine Turin without Askatasuna and I hope this will never happen,' said the artist and cartoonist in a passage of his message.

Turin's Confesercenti underlines 'the damage to commerce' caused by the eviction of the Askatasuna social centre just days before Christmas. 'It is a very serious situation,' says the association, 'that had to be foreseen. The Vanchiglia district must return to normality as early as tomorrow'. "Once again," says the provincial president of Confesercenti, Giancarlo Banchieri, "a demonstration has turned into a series of acts of vandalism and the blocking of commercial activities, forced to close all afternoon. This time the main victims are the shopkeepers in Vanchiglia, who were prevented from doing business during the days leading up to Christmas. But that's not all, since several other areas of Turin were also practically isolated, with serious damage to the pre-Christmas shopping day'.

'This is not just about this afternoon,' he points out. 'Since the beginning of this affair, we have been receiving reports from shopkeepers who are exasperated by the fact that even in the past few days many venues have received cancellations for business dinners, and this evening very few will be able to resume normal business. Who will pay for the losses incurred? New demonstrations have already been announced: intervene in time because the right to demonstrate has nothing to do with the violation of the freedom to work and to move around. 'We express our solidarity,' he concludes, 'with the forces of law and order once again subjected to unacceptable attacks.