Around 35,000 people took part in demonstrations in Milan, Italy, on Friday as a nationwide general strike brought workers, students and activists onto the streets, with protesters blocking part of the city's Eastern Ring Road.

Axar.az reports, citing Corriere della Sera, that the marchers brought traffic to a halt, and the procession covered more than two kilometres before leaving the ring road near Lambrate.

The demonstrations were organized by the grassroots USB union and involved students, workers, social centres and. Protesters called for higher wages, action against the rising cost of living, and an end to rearmament and the war economy.

Police and Carabinieri were deployed across the city, while several public transport routes were diverted or suspended. No major clashes with law enforcement were reported in the account.