Chaos erupted in Turin on Saturday evening, with over 100 police officers injured and fires being set in the centre of the Italian city amid a protest against the closure of a far-left activist hub.
Nationwide demonstrations were held on Saturday in response to the eviction of leftists from the so-called “Askatasuna social centre” in December after the building had been occupied by radicals for nearly 30 years and had served as a base of operations for far-left activism in the city.
The local municipal government had long allowed the group to occupy the city-owned building; however, the agreement was terminated after activists allegedly tied to Askatasuna stormed and ransacked the offices of the liberal newspaper La Stampa in November for apparently being too pro-Israel in its coverage of the war in Gaza.
On Saturday, organisers claimed that 50,000 people took to the streets of Turin in solidarity with the shuttered Askatasuna centre. While the initial demonstration was largely peaceful, violence broke out as the evening wore on.
TURIN, ITALY – JANUARY 31: A police van catches fire during clashes between police and protesters, including numerous anarchists and far-left activists from across Italy and abroad, during the nationwide protest against the Italian government, the war, and attacks on social spaces in Turin, January 31, 2026.(Photo by Andrea Carrubba/Anadolu via Getty Images)
According to broadcaster RAI, over 100 law enforcement officers were injured during clashes with far-left radicals in Turin as hooded demonstrators threw bottles, stones, and makeshift incendiary devices at police.
In one instance, a group of hooded radicals were seen beating a 29-year-old police officer, punching and kicking him, before attacking him with a hammer. Others were seen setting fires to dumpsters and even a police armoured vehicle. Police, in turn, deployed tear gas and water cannons against the violent mob.
In response, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said: “The images of the assaulted officer speak for themselves: we are not dealing with protesters, but with individuals acting as enemies of the State.”
“The ones who paid the price were the law enforcement officers, forced to face a real urban guerrilla warfare, and some journalists, attacked while doing their job. To them goes my full solidarity, together with that extended to the citizens who were damaged, who paid the price of blind and deliberate violence.”
Meloni added: “The State does not retreat in the face of the violence of fake revolutionaries accustomed to impunity and stands, without ambiguity, on the side of those who wear a uniform, those who provide information and those who respect the rules of civil coexistence.”
Supporters of the social centre Askatasuna march in Turin, Italy, on January 31, 2026. Photo by Elisa Marchina/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini called for the government to introduce fresh legislation to protect police and to introduce the obligation of bail for the release of anyone involved in rioting, saying: “Demonstrating is legitimate, smashing up cities and beating up police officers is not!”
Minister for Public Administration Paolo Zangrillo said: “Today I’m very angry because, unfortunately, we can’t even say that the limit has been crossed. The limit was crossed a long time ago, and therefore, there are clear responsibilities here, and they aren’t just the responsibilities of those runaways, those Askatasuna delinquents, these gentlemen who act with terrorist methods, but there are also the responsibilities of the institutions.”
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