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Summary Thousands protested in northern Italy against construction of a high-speed railway line.
Thousands of demonstrators peacefully besieged Turins city centre on Friday evening to protest against the ongoing construction of a high-speed railway through the Alpine valley of Susa, meant to run from France, through Italy, to Eastern Europe. France and Italy signed in 2001 a deal to build the high-speed TAV line and open a more modern, faster transport link between two of Europes biggest economies.Whereas many villagers of the Val di Susa have strongly opposed it, the project is defended by the government, by the main opposition party and by local administrations.The no-TAV movement has grown beyond the Val di Susa in recent years, winning a wide-ranging consensus spanning from anarchists to Catholics. Recurrent clashes with police at recent demonstrations alienated them from some public sympathy.
