State 'under attack' in TAV protests

(ANSA) - Genoa, July 25 - Transport Minister Maurizio Lupi said Friday that protests against the TAV high-speed rail line were being used to "attack the State" after trouble overnight at a work site in the Susa valley near Turin. "We are faced with criminal events by people, some from abroad, who want to use the work to attack the State," Lupi said "They will not be allowed space". Police responded with tear gas after protesters threw firecrackers at a site at Chiomonte. One police officer was burned.
    Around 30 protestors against the Turin-Lyon link also temporarily blocked off a motorway that leads to France, setting tyres alight. More protests are planned for Saturday.
    No-TAV protests, which have sometimes turned violent, have built up steam in recent years and been taken up by leftist and anti-capitalist groups despite government efforts to persuade opponents that it is an essential piece of infrastructure, especially when Italy's economy has been suffering its longest postwar recession.
    The Italian and French governments have insisted that the link will not only speed passenger and freight traffic but also boost both countries' economies.