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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has lashed out at “enemies of Italy” for damaging the country’s image, after the Winter Olympic Games’ first full day of competition was marred by acts of railway sabotage and separate clashes between police and protesters.
Meloni said “gangs of criminals” were undermining Italy’s efforts to host a successful Olympic Games, in a social media post on Sunday.
Italy’s high-speed rail networks were seriously disrupted on Saturday morning by apparent railway sabotage, including near Bologna, a major hub. So far, no one has claimed responsibility and no arrests have been made.
Late on Saturday night, after a largely peaceful demonstration against the Winter Olympics, some protesters battled police on the streets of Milan.
“Thousands and thousands of Italians are working during these hours so that everything works in the Olympics . . . because they want their nation to make a good impression, be admired and respected,” the prime minister wrote.
“Then there are the enemies of Italy, and the Italians protesting against the Olympics, whose images will end up being broadcast on televisions of half the world,” she said.
Early on Saturday, authorities found a rudimentary explosive device near a track near Bologna and discovered that cables used to detect train speeds had been severed. Another incident was found earlier in the Adriatic city of Pesaro, where a cabin housing a track switch was set on fire.
Trains were delayed by more than two-and-a-half hours, as authorities rushed to repair the damage and gather forensic evidence for a potential criminal prosecution.
Deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini said on Saturday that the incidents “mirror the terrorist attacks that occurred in France just hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games” in the summer of 2024.
Separately, on Saturday evening, thousands of people affiliated with trade unions, students, housing activists and other grassroots groups marched in Milan to peacefully protest what they described as the environmental, social and economic costs of hosting the Games, which they dubbed “the unsustainable Olympics”.
Some of the protesters also expressed opposition to the presence of agents from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to help guarantee security, and carried a large banner reading “ICE Out from Minnesota to Milan”.
But violent clashes erupted after a breakaway group moved towards the Olympic Village near Bocconi University in the city’s south. Demonstrators set off fireworks and flares, while police responded with water cannons and tear gas. Six people were arrested.
Ensuring adequate security has been a huge focus for Italy in the run-up to the Games. Last week, authorities said foreign ministry websites and sites linked to the Olympics had been targeted by pro-Russia “hacktivists” angered by European support for Ukraine.
Russia has been banned from participating in the Olympics due to its 2022 military invasion of Ukraine, though some Russian athletes are participating as neutrals.
In more positive developments for the host country, speed skater Francesca Lollobrigida, the grandniece of the late Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida, won a gold medal and set a new Olympic record for the women’s 3,000-metre race.
Italian alpine skiers Giovanni Franzoni and Dominik Paris won silver and bronze medals, respectively, in men’s downhill skiing, placing Italy joint top of the medal table with Japan and Norway at the end of the first day.
