Masked teens hurl petrol bombs and firecrackers at riot police as school riots spread across Italy

Tens of thousands of students took to the streets across Italy in a nationwide "No Meloni Day" of rage, with the worst violence erupting in Turin where police fired water cannons and tear gas into Piazza Castello after masked demonstrators pelted officers with rocks, glass bottles and torches. The protests echo weeks of unrest in France and Belgium, with Italian students demanding more teachers, better-funded classrooms and less defence spending.

In Rome, a mob marched on the Ministry of Education, hurling firecrackers and smoke bombs at the building while chanting 'Valditara, get out.'

Protesters also targeted Italy's new education law, which would cap the number of foreign students with poor Italian-language skills from next school year.

Students burned a cardboard tank in Turin and chanted 'Money for schools, not for war' — as police warned they are using video footage to identify those who turned violent.