San Francisco Frontiers - Italy braces for 'autumn of discontent' as students protest

Several disparate protest initiatives, some inspired by movements in France and Spain, are united in their opposition to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's hard-right government.

Students protested nationwide over conditions in schools on Friday, along with a teachers' union demanding wage increases and new hires.

Thousands rallied outside the education ministry in Rome, with police saying bottles and flares were thrown at their officers.

Schools have been occupied in several cities.

"Italy is in a dramatic economic and social crisis," Christian Ferrari, a leader of the major CGIL trade union, told AFP.

"The cost of living is unbearable, our productive system is losing pieces every day, there is a climate emergency... Some people are saying enough is enough," he said.

Ferrari said the protests are to keep "at the centre of the electoral campaign the material living and working conditions of Italians".

- Fall in real wages -

Italian media have dubbed the season an "autumn of discontent" for Meloni, who often touts Italy's political stability.

Her government became Italy's longest-serving last month, also earning plaudits for keeping the country's public finances in check. But inflation has surged.

While the waves of inflation following the Covid-19 pandemic and later geopolitical tensions have affected all of Europe, they have had a particularly strong impact in Italy, where wages and productivity have stagnated for several decades.

Real wages, adjusted for inflation, fell by 6.6 percent between 1990 and 2026, according to the Parliamentary Budget Office (UPB).

They also took longer to recover after the pandemic than in most other major European economies, according to the OECD.

And after months of calm, inflation accelerated sharply in September, reaching 4.2 percent year-on-year, notably because of fuel prices, according to the National Institute of Statistics (Istat).

Fuel prices led farmers and truck drivers to block roads earlier this week in the Puglia, Calabria and Sicily regions, slowing fuel transport and threatening pasta production.

The hauliers' union Conftrasporto is now threatening a "national blockade", denouncing "the climate of tension created by the unbearable situation linked to the surge in energy prices".

- Fuel price measures -

Since the start of the US war with Iran, Meloni has sought to curb soaring fuel prices, first through costly tax suspensions and then with the help of major fuel distributors who are keeping petrol prices below two euros per litre for now.

With just months to go before elections, the issue of purchasing power is becoming increasingly sensitive.

Economist Veronica De Romanis, a professor at Luiss University in Rome, said "a combination of factors linked to a fear of the future, fuelled by the geopolitical situation and economic factors" is pushing some Italians to protest.

Young people are particularly frustrated because in Italy "career progression in terms of pay is not linked to merit, but to seniority", which prompts them to "protest by leaving the country".

In Rome, Milan and Bologna, students have also pitched their tents in city centres to protest against the cost of living and of studying.

Around ten of them had set up camp on Wednesday on the lawns of Milan's Porta Nuova business district, between the UniCredit bank tower and the headquarters of the Lombardy region.

One of the protesters, Riccardo, 22, told AFP that Italy needed "a new major autumn movement".

"Even if we don't manage to throw the country into chaos like in France or block every road like in Spain, the aim is that with all of this, at least, people will start talking about these issues again."

M.Powell--SFF