The Winter Olympics are not unanimous in Milan. Thousands of people took to the streets of the Lombardy city on Saturday to denounce a range of problems, from the use of artificial snow to the housing crisis in the country’s wealthy financial capital.
Among these demonstrators, a group of around ten hooded people began throwing stones and shooting fireworks towards the police, who responded with water cannons and tear gas.
In an atmosphere of chaos, the police – who were on high alert after the violent clashes which took place during a demonstration in Turin last weekend – made several arrests.
The environmental impact of the Olympics denounced
“The Games… are no longer viable from an environmental or social point of view, their time has come,” Francesca Missana, a 29-year-old protester, told AFP.
Critics of the Olympics denounce the impact of infrastructure, from new buildings to transport, on fragile mountain environments, as well as the widespread use of artificial snow that consumes energy and water.
Others say Milan has become unlivable for many, with residents facing a sharp rise in the cost of living and an influx of wealthy new residents attracted by a favorable tax regime.
“These Games were presented as sustainable and cost-neutral,” said Alberto di Monte, one of the organizers of the protest, which was called by unions, housing rights groups and left-wing activists.
“A pleasant Disneyland for tourists”
“But the billions spent were used to build roads and not to protect the mountains,” he added to AFP. Meanwhile, Milan has transformed into a “tourist-friendly Disneyland,” hosting a series of major events but neglecting its residents, he said.
“Let’s regain possession of the city, let’s free the mountains,” read one banner, while another, on which a drop of water appeared, read: “The Olympic Games are drying me out.”
Giovanni Gaiani, 69, criticized the decision to cut down hundreds of trees to build the very controversial Milan-Cortina bobsleigh track.
Other protesters held up dozens of cardboard trees, before spreading them on the ground as if they lay where they had been cut down.
A nod to the presence of American agents from the ICE unit
“Liberate the mountain, less ICE, more glaciers,” read another banner.
The presence of agents from the American immigration control agency ICE, responsible for ensuring the security of the American delegation, aroused anger in Italy.
Police wearing riot helmets were seen near the protest site, where some people marched waving Palestinian flags.
