Irate motorists repeatedly kicked and dragged climate protesters blocking traffic in Milan on Monday, video from the Italian city has shown.
Around 20 ‘Ultima Generazione’ – translated as Last Generation – activists blocked a road shortly after 9am this morning, drawing the anger of several drivers left stuck in the resulting traffic.
Footage showed several activists sitting on a crossing point over the multi-lane road at a busy intersection, causing chaos for drivers during rush hour by linking hands and holding up an orange climate emergency banner, similar to others seen at other disruptive protests across Europe in recent years.
Several drivers, furious at the protesters for blocking their way, got out of the cars and attempted to clear them out of the road.
One man, perhaps the most furious of the bunch, is shown in the video repeatedly kicking one of the protesters as he lies down on his back.
He mostly hit the activists leg and foot, before a woman walked over and joined the man in shouting at the road blockers.
One man (pictured left in a grey jumper), perhaps the most furious of the bunch, is shown in the video repeatedly kicking one of the protesters as he lies down on his back
The footage shared by Corriere della Sera opens with a frustrated man in a pink shirt and tie berating one of the activists sitting on the road and holding the sign
The footage shared by Corriere della Sera opens with a frustrated man in a pink shirt and tie berating one of the activists sitting on the road and holding the sign.
Despite suffering several insults accompanied with exuberant hand gestures, the determined activists were left completely unmoved by the man’s anger.
Not long after, however, more motorists joined the fray.
To a cacophony of horns, at least three more motorists could be seen trying to tear the orange banner out of the hands of the activists.
Seeing an opening, one man on the back of a moped drives between two of the protesters and parks his rear wheel on top of the banner.
After another cut in the footage, more angry road users are seen trying to drag the protesters out of the road to allow the traffic to pass.
To a cacophony of horns, at least three more motorists could be seen trying to tear the orange banner out of the hands of the activists (pictured here after most of the banner has been torn away from the activists)
People banded together to carry activists off the road and even the police officers took part in dragging the eco zealots away
However some stubborn participants (like the one pictured in the green jacket above) kept throwing themselves back on the road – even once cars were moving again
Several among the disruptive group go limp, lying flat on the tarmac and making it even more challenging for the motorists to drag them to the side.
People banded together to carry activists off the road and even the police officers took part in dragging the eco zealots away.
However some stubborn participants kept throwing themselves back on the road – even once cars were moving again.
Only once the activists were loaded into police cars traffic seemed to flow seamlessly again.
The Italian newspaper said the confrontation occurred at the intersection between Viale Scarampo and Viale Eginardo, near the city’s Portello metro station.
Traffic resumed after around 15 minutes as the activists were taken to the police station.
The local judicial authorities will now decide whether to charge the protesters.
This comes after a fed up motorist also resorted to violence to break up a street-blocking protest by Last Generation in Germany last month.
The infuriated motorist grabs the protester’s hair before hitting him in the face
He returns to kick and slap another member of the group
Shocking video shows the enraged man leaping into the B36 highway near the Victoria Tower in Mannheim and began punching and kicking a series of activists from Last Generation – a German climate protection movement.
Police have arrested the 29-year-old suspect, according to German newspaper Bild.de.
The assailant, wearing a white vest and grey jogging bottoms, was one of several angered motorists who confronted the eco-zealots who had donned orange uniforms and sat on the tarmac, backing up three lanes of cars.
When the demonstrators remained seated and refused to move he snapped, lashing out with fists and feet of fury and dragging them away.
Mannheim Police found out about the attack the following day and arrested the suspect in Ludwigsburg, where he was taken for interrogation.
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