Italian police beat villagers protesting train tunnel constructed to France

At dawn the police in Turin reported that they had regained control of the land in Venaus, but the demonstrators managed to bring in sympathisers who quickly set up road and railway blocks bringing transport to a standstill.

The protestors claim that the new railway line, which will take 15 years to complete, will endanger the environment and ruin the beautiful mountainous area between Turin and the French border.

The line will include two tunnels, one 12 km long in Italy and the second 52 km long between Italy and France.

Venaus is between Susa and the Italian-French border and close to the area where the Winter Olympics will be held in February 2006.

(AGI) - Venaus, Italy, Dec. 6 - A police raid designed to move demonstrators who were occupying the site of works for the Turin to Lyon leg of Trans-European high-speed rail-link at Venaus near Turin took place this morning causing many injuries. According to the reports of the president of the Bassa Valle Mountain Community, Antonio Ferrentino, the clashes began at around 3 am in the area occupied by protestors. "It all happened suddenly" said the Mayor of Venaus, Nilo Durbiano, people were assaulted with truncheons, there are injuries. The town's priest rang the bells to inform the inhabitants." The police and Carabinieri in riot gear, were reinforced and workers have already began cordoning off the areas reclaimed with fencing. The Turin police also let it be known that the total number of lots of land set aside for the construction is 82 and not as initially claimed, 5. (AGI) -