Star Metro - Teen rallies take to the streets across Italy

Students have been protesting for weeks, setting up tent camps and occupying schools to make their demands heard, matching similar movements across the border in France.

The Italian protests have taken place alongside those of truck drivers and farmers over the spike in fuel prices and the cost of living, as well as rising defence spending.

"On Friday, we expect a massive mobilisation of students, who will block and empty schools," Laura Teresi, 18, from Rome's Cavour high school, a spokesperson for the OSA student movement, told AFP.

"We will take to the streets to denounce the rearmament policies of (Prime Minister Giorgia) Meloni's government and the rising cost of living, which is weighing ever more heavily on families, workers and students," she added.

The students will also protest against the "endless budget cuts to teaching," Teresi said.

Officials are worried about a repeat of the violence on October 17 and 18 in Milan, the country's economic capital, where groups of young people set cars on fire and looted shops.

- 'Malaise' -

On Friday, the radical left USB union has called for a general strike.

"The broader Italian and European context is marked by a crisis and a social, economic and cultural malaise affecting different segments of society and different regions," said Rosario Forlenza, professor of contemporary history and political anthropology at Rome's Luiss University.

"The younger generation (is)... a generation that is underrepresented politically, that sees political leaders' attention focused elsewhere and therefore lives in a situation of precarity, social distress and even a lack of a future," Forlenza said.

In response to the youth protests, Meloni's hard-right government has eased rules on detaining minors and toughened laws on public gatherings.

The government also last week agreed on a 175.2-million-euro ($195 million) aid package for truck drivers, farmers and fishermen hit by soaring fuel prices linked to the war in the Middle East.

Measures in favour of young people and families are also planned in the draft 2027 budget currently being discussed among the various governing parties, such as an annual bonus of 2,500 euros for workers under 30.

"I hope this can provide answers for young people in general... who feel that the state doesn't care about them," Meloni said at a press conference on Wednesday, stressing that these measures were "not for those who smash windows".

Psychologist and psychotherapist Matteo Lancini said part of the problem was schools themselves because they were "totally disconnected" from young people's needs.

"What we need are schools that change radically, schools that are not designed around adults' pension systems," Lancini said at a meeting with the foreign press in Rome.

Instead, "everyone eases their conscience by saying it's social media's fault," he said.

P.Graham--SMC