Police on Tuesday baton-charged a group of taxi drivers and street vendors who were protesting and throwing objects in front of the Rome headquarters of the ruling centre-left Democratic Party (PD).
Demonstrators initially dispersed in the central area of Via del Tritone and then started hurling objects once again, including glass bottles.
Some demonstrators also damaged cafes in the tourist-packed area, crashing vases and throwing tables and chairs on the floor.
Taxi drivers are on their sixth day of a wildcat strike against a measure the Lower House started debating on Tuesday which they claim would help Uber and unfair competition from unauthorized operators.
Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi on Tuesday told the taxi drivers that she was on their side. "We are with you," Raggi, a member of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S), told a group of taxi drivers. "Non-line public transport is a fundamental service for us. It is the city's calling card and it must be regulated in a clear way. It can be improved but we don't like reforms imposed from above and they certainly complicate the whole system".
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