Thousands of Italians stage nationwide protest rallies

Thousands of Italians have taken to the streets across the country to protest against the economic policies of the Italian government and the EU, Press TV reports.

The rallies, organized by the Pitchforks Movement, were held on Monday, when protesters halted rail and road traffic in several Italian cities, including the capital, Rome, and Turin in northern Italy as well as in the regions of Veneto in Italy’s northeast and Sicily in the central Mediterranean.

Many shops and businesses closed fearing potential damage during protests in Rome, though no violence was reported in the capital.

Clashes broke out, however, in Turin between the demonstrators and anti-riot police, who fired tear gas to disperse the people.

Among the protesters were farmers, unemployed people and truck drivers, who called on Italy’s ruling political class to resign in order to allow more trustable figures to govern. They said politicians must be held accountable for bringing the country to its current troubled economic situation.

“We farmers are on the streets to say ‘Enough!’ to the state, the government, the unions. We just can’t manage anymore,” said Giorgio Bissoli, a spokesman for the Azione Rurale protest group in the Veneto region.

“Politicians must go home. The cost of fuel and food are sky-rocketing. Tax suppression is unbearable. They are killing us,” said one protester.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Enrico Letta has warned of the growing opposition against the government as well as the European Union, due to the imposed austerity measures. Letta has also said the mounting opposition could result in a massive anti-EU vote in next year’s European parliamentary elections.

The Pitchforks Movement plans to continue the protest until December 13.

Italy is suffering its longest recession since the World War II with youth unemployment at an all-time high of 40.1 percent.

The country started to experience recession after its economy contracted by 0.2 percent in the third quarter of 2011, and by 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter of the same year.

Over the past decade, Italy has been the slowest growing economy in the eurozone.