Rome, July 4 (IANS) Hundreds of demonstrators Sunday clashed with police in Italy protesting the construction of a high-speed rail link to France, Xinhua reported.
About 50 police officers were injured in the clash near Turin.
A new construction site opened in Chiomonte for the rail link.
Residents around the border between Italy and France believe a high-speed rail line would destroy the area, and they oppose the drilling of a tunnel which they claim could release potentially harmful material.
The protest is being led by the ‘No Tav’ (No to the high-speed train) movement.
Twenty-three local mayors are also against the project, signed by Italy and France in 2001, to build the high-speed link, which would cut three hours off the current seven-hour journey time between Paris and Milan.
Work on the main 58-km tunnel – of which 12 km are in Italy – is scheduled to begin in 2013. It is expected to go into service around 2023.
