Italy: two million on the streets of 100 cities in support of Palestine

Friday, 3 October 2025, will be remembered as a major turning point in the class struggle in Italy. It is the day Italy saw millions participate in a general strike in support of the Palestinian people. The strike was called jointly by the USB union and the CGIL, the biggest trade union confederation in Italy, with its five million members.

Two million people marched for Palestine on the streets of well over 100 cities across Italy. This is going to have an enormous impact on consciousness in the coming period, both in Italy and across Europe, and beyond. It has revealed the power of the working class once it begins to move. 

It also brings out an important question, the impact of a workers’ boycott of Israel. Up until recently, such an idea was even derided by some on the left, who considered it an impracticable, utopian idea. What hid behind this was clearly a total lack of confidence in the ability of the working class to move in such a direction. Well, now we have it before our very eyes. The mass mobilisations, combined with the blocking of ships destined for Israel, shows the way.

This is the breakdown of the numbers participating in some of the major cities yesterday: Milan: 150k, Rome: 300k, Bologna: 100k, Turin: 70k, Genoa: 30k, Florence: 100k, Bari: 20k, Naples: 50k, Palermo: 30k. In normal times, to get 300,000 to a demonstration in Rome would be considered a good turnout for a national event, but this is just Rome alone.

The mood in Italy is electric. The government is worried; the bosses are worried, the right wing are worried. And they have good reasons to be worried. This is the Italian working class and the youth waking up and returning to their historical traditions of class struggle. The slogans on the demonstrations were in support of Palestine, but also against the Meloni government.

Gaza has in fact been like a catalyst that has brought to the surface all the class contradictions in Italian society. Meloni had come out against the strike, trying to belittle it by making a claim that the unions were calling a strike on a Friday so that they could have a “long weekend”. She said that “long weekends and the revolution do not go well together”, showing how completely out of touch she is with the real mood in society. 

On social media, people have been saying “yes, it will be a long weekend”. Today, Saturday 4 October, a national demonstration in support of Palestine is gathering. People are expressing joy at the idea that we have a long weekend of strikes and demonstrations. Others made comments along the lines of, “Meloni, you seem to forget that now we work a 7-day week”!

In Milan the 150,000 protesters marched in a 4 kilometre-long column, a sea of humanity, behind a huge banner, “Free Palestine – Stop the War Machine”. A major highway, the Tangenziale Est was occupied. Such was the size of the demonstration that the police dared not intervene. It seems that the police may even have made a deal to allow the whole thing to take place. It is obvious that to have attacked such a huge crowd would only have served to further enrage the mass of workers and youth.

The day before, on Thursday, Matteo Salvini, the Minister of Transport and leader of the League [one of the parties within Meloni’s right-wing coalition], had posted a video in which he warned of dire consequences if any disorder were to break out. But what is most significant is that he did not invoke the anti-strike laws, the ‘precettazione’, which allows for certain strikes to be banned, even though a state commission had declared today’s general strike “illegitimate”. 

If he had used those laws, it would have placed the five-million-strong CGIL union in a position of having to defy the government openly, and break the law. For the bosses, that would be a dangerous step to take. For, once that law is openly broken by such a huge force, it would set a precedent for future strikes, such as on the railways, in healthcare and so on. They need to keep that tool in reserve for the strikes that will inevitably break out in the coming period.

Rome saw the biggest turnout, with its 300,000. This was the biggest local demonstration in Rome since 1994. It was an amazing spectacle to observe. As the march passed in front of the Ministry of Transport, eggs were thrown towards the building by school students. The symbol of the GenZ revolutions around the world, the ‘skeleton and hat’ of the Straw Hat Pirates’ Jolly Roger, from the popular Japanese manga and anime series One Piece – which has been seen in Nepal, Indonesia, the Philippines and Madagascar – could also be seen here. The protesters later went on to occupy the A25 motorway. 

Maurizio Landini, the general secretary of the CGIL, spoke at the rally, and said, “The streets are full; we should be proud“, and he added “I see an unprecedented youth mobilisation; they are an example for us too. We must have the ability and humility to listen to them. [...] We cannot leave young people a world of precariousness, war, profit, and competition between individuals. [...] We are holding high the honour of the country. Forward until the Palestinians win the right to exist as a nation.”

Until only a few days ago, no one would have imagined the CGIL leadership acting in this manner. What this shows is that the huge mobilisation of 22 September, with over half a million marching in 80 cities, has woken them from their slumber. They were caught off guard and realised they had misread the mood. They thought they could get away with going through the motions of calling a strike, as they had done on 19 September, and then get on with business as usual. 

The massive turnout yesterday also shows what a powerful movement can be unleashed once the official unions are on board. Joint action between the much smaller USB and the CGIL is not an everyday occurrence in Italy. There has been a long standing hostility between the two. But they were forced to come together due to the unstoppable pressure from below. 

The most striking feature of the day was the huge turnout of the youth, with school students in particular coming out in large numbers. But there was also a large presence of university students, and many, many workers. In fact, workers came out in big numbers. According to the FIOM (the CGIL’s metalworkers’ union) in some factories there was an 80 percent participation rate in the strike, and overall it seems there may have been a 60 percent participation rate. That is an unprecedented figure for what amounts to a political strike.

Local transport was affected, as was national rail. Air traffic also saw cancellations and long delays. Healthcare workers adhered to the strike. There were scenes outside hospitals where staff had to work, in which doctors came out to give speeches in support of the movement. Firefighters were out to show their support. Teachers came out in big numbers.

All this was in spite of threats from Salvini, the Minister of Transport. He warned that if the protesters were “reasonable” the authorities would behave accordingly, but if they were “arrogant”, he said “we will know how to respond”. He even raised the idea that if any damage were caused by the protesters, then the organisers should be forced to pay for the damages, pointing the finger at Landini in particular.

The reports coming in from all over Italy, from North to South, are truly impressive. In Cagliari, the regional capital of Sardinia, the railway station was taken over and trains were blocked. In Palermo, the regional capital of Sicily, around 30,000 turned out, and as the march passed by, the local people applauded the protesters. In Catania, another province in Sicily, an unprecedented number turned out: around 10,000. Even in Messina, there were several thousands. Syracuse saw a demonstration. The Calabria region saw protests in all the main towns of Catanzaro, Reggio Calabria, Vibo Valentia, Cosenza and Crotone. In Catanzaro up to 20,000 came out. 

In Naples the protesters were able to break through the police lines and occupy the docks. Bari saw a big turnout, marching towards the main station singing “Bella ciao” and “Palestina libera” [Free Palestine]. In Florence the column of 100,000 marching stretched for 2.5 kilometres. The last time such a large turnout for a demonstration was seen in Florence was back in 2002. The protesters attempted to reach Coverciano, where the national football team trains, to demonstrate against the fact that Italy is playing Israel in the European Cup.

The 40,000 protesters in Genoa marched behind banners such as “Meloni you should be ashamed of yourself”, brought by the FIOM, the metalworkers of the CGIL. Thousands of university and school students were also present, marching from the occupied university. Among the slogans were, “With the Palestinian resistance, not one step back”, “We are all anti-Zionists”, “We all stand with the flotilla”, and “We need more schools and less bombs”.

In Bologna the 100,000 strong march raised the slogan “Meloni, resign!” The whole of the motorway network around the city was blocked. Ryanair, which uses Bologna airport, diverted 26 flights to Forlì to avoid the effects of the strike! In Turin, where university students had organised an occupation, the 70,000 protesters were welcomed by passersby and – to give you a taste of the mood – as they passed by a building site, the workers on the scaffolding applauded the demonstration.

The port of Livorno was completely blocked, as protesters set up barriers to prevent vehicles from entering the docks. Venice saw two marches, one from Mestre and one from Venice proper, which marched towards the Ponte della Libertà, the bridge that connects Venice to the mainland. The list of smaller cities and towns affected is endless: from Bergamo where around 10,000 turned out; to Parma with 20,000; Modena 20,000; Trento 15,000; to Padua; Verona; Vicenza; and many, many more. Even the staff at the Italian Embassy in Madrid, and Consular services in Barcelona and Lisbon came out on strike.

The undisputable success of yesterday’s strike and demonstrations has lifted the confidence of the workers and youth of Italy. They have had a taste of their own strength. They have seen that it is not true that ‘people don’t care’. For a long time the propaganda of the mainstream media was designed – and still is – to show that Meloni is strong, that the country supports her right-wing government. But this is very superficial to say the least.

Let us not forget that this government has never had the support of the majority of the population. Meloni’s right-wing coalition, made up of her party Fratelli d’Italia, together with Forza Italia and the Lega, won 43.79 percent back in the 2022 general election. But if one takes into account the fact that only 64 percent of the eligible population actually voted, then we can see that her coalition only received the active support of around 26 percent of the electorate, with around 16 percent voting for Meloni’s party.

This means that close to 3 in 4 Italians did not vote for this government. This is very similar to the situation in France, where Macron only received around 25 percent support in the first round, or Starmer in Britain, who only actually won the active support of around 20 percent of the electorate. The reason for such levels of abstention is to be found in the fact that the so-called ‘left’, the Democratic Party, the Five Stars Movement, etc., do not offer a credible alternative. They have governed the country in the past and they carried out austerity measures in line with the needs of the bosses.

Yesterday we saw what enormous potential there is for a genuine fighting alternative to the Meloni government. This marks the beginning of a new period in Italian politics, one which will see the working masses begin to take their destiny into their own hands.

This is what terrifies the Italian ruling class. In the past few days they have shown their extreme concern in the way they have tried to criminalise this mass pro-Palestine movement. Ministers have appeared on TV shows, accusing CGIL leader Landini of being a criminal. On the few occasions when some violent clashes have broken out between small, marginal elements in the demonstrations and the police, this is immediately highlighted in the media. But the masses aren't falling for it. It is clear that the overwhelming majority are in solidarity with the people of Palestine. The people at the top are out of sync with the mass of workers and youth. 

What is being prepared is a new period of intensified class struggle in Italy. What we are witnessing today is just a foretaste of what is to come. Our comrades in Italy of the Partito Comunista Rivoluzionario – the Italian section of the Revolutionary Communist International – were out in force across the whole country. What they report is that there was a very receptive response to the revolutionary ideas of Marxism, especially among the youth. This bodes well for the future. What is lacking in Italy is a party that is capable of providing the Italian working class with the leadership that it deserves.