The student protests coincide with demonstrations by truck drivers and farmers over fuel prices and rising defence spending. (AFP pic)ROME: School and university students are to rally in several Italian cities on Friday to call for more funding for schools and support for housing, with security forces preparing for possible clashes.
Students have been protesting for weeks, setting up tent camps and occupying schools to make their demands heard, matching similar movements across the border in France.
The Italian protests have taken place alongside those of truck drivers and farmers over the spike in fuel prices and the cost of living, as well as rising defence spending.
"On Friday, we expect a massive mobilisation of students, who will block and empty schools," Laura Teresi, 18, from Rome's Cavour high school, a spokesperson for the OSA student movement, told AFP.
