Protests and blockades in the streets, half-empty supermarket shelves. The high cost of fuel has triggered the truck revolt in the South: the hauliers are threatening to stop the country, while the Meloni government has decided to convene a discussion table for Tuesday 27 October at the Ministry of Transport. Autonomous blocks have already been triggered in some regions of the South, such as in Puglia. Other demonstrations began on the initiative of autonomous committees and groups in Calabria and Sicily, but also in Campania and Basilicata.
The protest spreads
There is a real risk of a national stop against price increases at the pumps. Because the protest is growing like wildfire in these hours. For some days, hauliers and farmers have been demonstrating in various cities of Puglia against the increase in the cost of fuel and the drop in the price of oil, with mobilizations and road blocks at motorway toll booths, on ring roads and along other main roads. The blockades are intertwined with the dispute of the Ilva workers of Taranto, who oppose the closure of the plant: since Monday 12 October, when they blocked the entrance to the Eni refinery in protest, three southern regions – Puglia, Basilicata and Calabria – have had to deal with fuel shortages.
Photos of Apulian supermarkets
And farmers are also rebelling, with direct consequences on the agri-food sector. With the protests and empty truck tanks, there are also the first supply difficulties for supermarkets, where some fresh products such as fruit and vegetables are starting to run out. If the daily supplies do not reach their destination due to the protest of the hauliers, it is clear that the shelves are not restocked, with the risk of running out of food supplies. The situation of many Apulian supermarkets is documented by several users with photos on social media.
Lollobrigida’s comment
“Demonstrating is lawful and worthy of respect… Blocking the streets to prevent products from being distributed is a crime.” Thus in a social post the Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, Francesco Lollobrigida. “I respect everyone’s requests, but I consider it serious and intolerable that millions of Italians risk, due to road blocks, seeing shops without goods or with much higher prices which aggravate the condition of many families – he continued – I invite you to guarantee circulation and supplies. Causing harm to others to protect your own positions is not right. Many products present on trucks, stopped against the will of those who drive them, will be unusable, causing economic damage to the companies, workers in the sector and all citizens. There is never any justification in violating the laws and, above all, in harming other citizens”, concluded the minister.
Even in the municipality of San Severo, in the province of Foggia, empty shelves have been reported in supermarkets: “Flour, eggs, milk and fruit and vegetables are in short supply, while several petrol pumps report running out of reserves. The images illustrate the effects of transport difficulties: if the blockade continues, the situation could worsen in the coming days”. Several mayors of the Gargano area, in the north-east of the province of Foggia, said that the same is happening in other countries and that “the situation is close to total collapse”.
View this post on Instagram