ROME – Restaurant owners and others angry at having their businesses shut for weeks due to pandemic lockdown measures clashed with police Tuesday during a protest outside Parliament in Rome.
One officer was injured in the scuffling, the Italian news agency LaPresse said. Many in the crowd of a few hundred protesters lowered their protective masks to shout “Work!” and “Freedom!” Some hurled smoke flares or other objects.
Dining and drinking at restaurants, bars and cafes are currently banned through at least April. Only takeout or delivery services are permitted.
Officers charged the protesters after they tried to breach a police cordon. Members of a far-right political group joined the business owners in the protest, according to the