Rabble received this eyewitness account of last week’s Mayday riot in Milan:
Seven days a go a rabblesome black bloc, up to a thousand strong, joined the Milan Mayday demo. Cars were set alight and banks, estate agents, chain stores and CCTV cameras were attacked. Anti-capitalist slogans were daubed on the walls.
Police attacked the crowd with water cannon, sound grenades and tear gas. The bloc fought back by hurling rocks, the pavement was broken up and cobblestones were thrown at the cops. A line of people wearing motorcycle helmets and wielding clubs protected the crowd on either side. The police did not risk trying to enter the crowd.
The Mayday demo came during a week of action against the international Expo 2015, an extravagant six-month ‘world fair‘ celebrating the corporate wealth built on exploitation and the destruction of the environment.
During the week comrades from across Europe and beyond joined the squatters and social movements of Milan to converge against the expo, to make links and to plot together. On Wednesday April 29th a thousand strong anti-fascist demo halted a nazi march, on the 30th a student demonstration was held in the centre of Milan. The police responded by raiding several squats and contriving charges against people they picked up in pre-emptive arrests. Despite this, over a thousand people made it to an international camp the night before Mayday.
The No TAV movement, which has been resisting the destruction of the Susa Valley, north of Turin, by a high-speed train line, participated in the week of action. Expo 2015 was being used as a marketing oppurtunity to unveil a new model of high-speed train.
Coming just six weeks after international anti-capitalists came together in Frankfurt, the experience of Milan demonstrated again the value of international solidarity in the struggle against capitalism and the state. Those of us who were lucky enough to be in Milan were able to make links with comrades from across Europe, discuss and compare tactics, dream of the future and take to the streets together.
The symbolism of the action was as intended, TV images of Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s speech at the grand opening of Expo 2015 were oveshadowed by images of the anger on the streets. The week of action is intended to be the beginning of six months of resistance against the Expo.
For more info see http://www.noexpo.org/english/