The No Tav movement holds firm after Saturday's attacks on the construction sites of the Turin-Lyon line in the Susa Valley. "The account given by most newspapers and television news programs has been the same as it was back at the time of the first G8, since Genoa or even before, which is: 'there are the valley residents who wanted to protest peacefully, then the black bloc shows up.' This division is absolutely false." These are the words of Guido Fissore, a historic No Tav activist in his eighties, speaking at a press conference held by the movement in Venaus. "If you had seen the march leaving from here, you would know that thousands of people headed up toward Chiomonte, so what happened there, we all did it, we are all responsible." The activist underscores a specific point: "Entering the construction site was something shared by everyone, and it is important that people know this, it is better to say it outright."
"It is not the first time," he explains, "that we have said this. I remember after 2011. It doesn't mean that we all go around throwing rocks at police officers, but what I mean is that situations can escalate." According to Fissore, "telling the story that 'we are the good ones, we don't do these things, it's the outsiders who come here and carry out these acts' — which you call reckless — is simply not true. We are all responsible; if anything, the problem is the response they give."
"We feel a little annoyed by their presence here, but that means the adversary is weak," said Olivero Fugera, a minority municipal councillor in Giaglione, referring to the visit to the Chiomonte construction site by Prime Minister Meloni and Minister Piantedosi. "These days have been a great result for us, given the large turnout at the Festival and the initiatives called for by the No Tav Movement against the construction sites, so we will keep going like this."
"They are outsiders, definitely not people from the valley," says Chiara, who works in a household goods shop in the centre of Susa, concerned about the "reputational damage" to the valley.
"We are fed up — every year on Saturday afternoon there are always clashes." Luciana, sitting across from her, adds: "They're building the TAV now anyway, so why carry out these attacks? Just to cause damage."
For Ilaria, who runs a tobacconist's shop on a nearby street, "peaceful protest is one thing, but getting to these clashes, to this destruction, is something else entirely. People who arrive here perhaps even a week in advance and go into hiding should be monitored, not just those being identified now as they leave the campsite."
In Chiomonte, among the few remaining businesses holding on, the mood is no different. "They have worn out their welcome. Yesterday," staff at the pharmacy recount, "a small cultural event was cancelled out of fear there might be street fighting, even though in reality everything happened at the construction site. This is a village that is dying." Next door, a trattoria closed its shutters for the last time last year; across the street, a 'business for sale' sign is prominently displayed on the door of a grocery store. "Of course, it is normal for a mountain village, but all of this certainly doesn't help."
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