Violent clashes broke out during a large protest in Turin, Italy, over the weekend as anarchist and leftists attacked police, prompting Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to strongly condemn the unrest and vow a firm response.

Videos from the scene showed demonstrators dressed in black confronting police, with footage appearing to capture objects being thrown at officers and police lines forced backward. Images from Reuters showed riot police surrounded by red smoke during clashes linked to a march in support of the Askatasuna social center, which authorities recently evicted. Experts say the building had been occupied by far-left activists for decades.

Italian authorities said 108 security personnel were injured in the violence. Protesters hurled bottles, stones, homemade incendiary devices and smoke bombs, set fire to rubbish bins and a police armored vehicle, and used street furniture and uprooted lampposts as weapons, European media reported.

Commenting on the violence, U.S. and Europe analyst Matthew Tyrmand told Fox News Digital, “It’s not that dissimilar to what you see in the U.S. at times,” he said. “Think about Seattle, or Cop City in Atlanta or Portland. It’s the same odd coalition of leftist groups, anarchists, pro-Palestinian groups and random individuals coming together.”

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Meloni responded forcefully, warning that violence against police and threats to public order would not be tolerated. In a post on X, the prime minister shared photos from a hospital visit with injured officers and described the confrontations in stark terms.

“This morning I went to the Le Molinette hospital in Turin to bring, on behalf of Italy, my solidarity to two of the officers who were injured in yesterday’s clashes,” Meloni wrote, adding: “Against them: hammers, Molotov cocktails, nail-filled paper bombs, stones launched with catapults, blunt objects of every kind, and jammers to prevent the police from communicating.”

Quoting one officer, Meloni added: “They were there to kill us.” She went on to say: “These are not protesters. These are organized criminals. This is attempted murder.”

Dr. Lorenzo Vidino, director of the program on extremism at George Washington University, told Fox News Digital that while the images were shocking, the violence itself was not unprecedented. “Torino in particular is a hotbed of anarchist and hardcore communist groups,” Vidino said. “But we’ve had this in many other places in Italy, and it happens throughout Europe.”

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Vidino said the unrest followed what he called the recent “liberation” of Askatasuna, a building occupied for decades by far-left activists, which he described as a catalyst for a broader reaction.

“What you have here is a network of not just Italian but European anarchists and communists, with some pro-Palestinian groups,” he said. “It’s a fairly well-established coalition of groups, and they routinely engage in this sort of violence. Antifa is also part of this coalition. It’s one of the umbrella movements in what happened in Torino.”

Vidino also pointed to links between the groups involved and a previous attack on the offices of La Stampa, one of Italy’s most prominent newspapers, which he described as a turning point for authorities.

“Storming the offices of a major newspaper crossed a red line,” Vidino said. 

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On Monday, Meloni said she chaired a meeting at Palazzo Chigi to assess what she called “serious episodes of violence against the police forces” and to determine measures to guarantee public safety.

Tyrmand said the clashes reflect Italy’s long history of militant left-wing activism.

“Italy has a long history of hardcore leftist organizing,” he said. “They’re cut from the same cloth. Marxist movements are truly of their genesis.”

“When a right-wing leader like Meloni comes into power, they get especially ginned up,” he added. “Violence is their modus operandi. I expect it will be quelled because Meloni is a tough figure.”

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He added that the tactics and alliances mirror those seen during U.S. street protests and encampments.

“It’s the same dynamics,” Vidino said. “A permanent presence of these networks that mobilize quickly around symbolic causes.”

The German government has restated its opposition to reopening diplomatic channels with Russian President Vladimir Putin as part of negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, an idea that has gained traction after being endorsed by the leaders of France and Italy.

“We support direct talks between Russia and Ukraine on the highest level since there can be no just and durable peace without Ukraine’s participation,” a spokesperson for the Federal Foreign Office of Germany told Euronews.

“Unfortunately, we have seen no change in Russia’s position so far: Russia continues to repeat maximalist demands and shows no genuine willingness to negotiate as it continues its brutal attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure and other civilian targets.”

Last week, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he was “sceptical” about the prospect of re-engagement with the Kremlin, pointing to its continued refusal to establish an unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine, a long-running demand from Europeans.

“We will have to maintain our pressure and sanctions, and intensify them wherever possible,” Merz said, noting that the European Union was already in touch with Kyiv and Washington to convey its unified position.

“Moscow must be willing to end the war. If Moscow isn’t, the price it has to pay for this war, including the economic price, will increase week by week and month by month. That, unfortunately, is the situation we find ourselves in today,” he added.

The comments put Germany, the European Union’s largest member state, directly at odds with France. Last month, after hosting a meeting of the “Coalition of the Willing”, French President Emmanuel Macron said dialogue with Putin, largely interrupted since February 2022, should be launched “as soon as possible”.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni then endorsed Macron’s position.

“I believe the time has come for Europe to also speak with Russia,” Meloni said. “If Europe decides to take part in this phase of negotiations by talking only to one of the two sides, I fear that in the end the positive contribution it can make will be limited.”

The European Commission admitted direct talks might take place “at some point”, but High Representative Kaja Kallas, who is part of the Commission, later voiced opposition, calling on Russia to be “serious” and make concessions as a first step.

“What we are working on is putting more pressure on Russia so that they would go from pretending to negotiate to actually negotiate,” Kallas said.

As peace talks advance and security guarantees are fleshed out, European capitals are taking a critical look at their role in the process, whose outcome, if there ever is one, is poised to redefine the continent’s security architecture for generations to come.

For some, Russia’s relentless bombing campaign, which is plunging Ukraine into blackouts at sub-zero temperatures, is reason enough to keep Putin at arm’s length.

“As long as Russia has not changed its actions and objectives in its aggression against Ukraine, it is not possible to engage in talks with Russia, nor should we offer it a way out of isolation,” the Estonian foreign ministry told Euronews.

“We must not repeat mistakes made time and again by restoring relations when Russia has not changed course.”

For others, though, Europeans need to pick up the phone themselves to avoid depending on the White House, which is today the main intermediary with Moscow.

“The EU should consider appointing a special envoy for future peace talks on Russia’s war in Ukraine,” the Czech Republic’s foreign ministry told Euronews. “While negotiations are currently driven by the US, Russia and Ukraine, it makes sense to think about a European role in the longer term in order to remain a relevant participant.”

As the political debate unfolds, Brussels is preparing a new package of ecosanctions against Russia, which is set to be unveiled in the coming days, so that it can be approved by the time the full-scale invasion reaches its fourth anniversary on 24 February.