Students rally for Palestine outside U.S. Consulate in Florence

The U.S. Consulate on Lungarno Vespucci, Florence, remained under heavy police guard yesterday, Wednesday, September 24, 2025, as Palestinian flags continued to wave outside during a student-led protest. The demonstration was sparked by the drone strikes against the Global Sumud Flotilla off the coast of Crete and quickly turned into a sit-in.

The protest began in the morning with students from the Machiavelli-Capponi high school and the Porta Romana art institute. By midday, teachers, local residents, members of the ex Gkn collective and representatives of S.I. Cobas had joined the sit-in. Traffic slowed along the riverbank as passersby stopped to take photos and listen to chants and drumming improvised with bottles and boxes.

Tension rose when police stopped a young demonstrator who tried to push through the barriers. He was released shortly before noon after signing a report at police headquarters, returning to the crowd amid applause.

As the hours went by, the protest grew in size and visibility. Students announced their intention to continue striking in solidarity with the flotilla and in opposition to the United States, Israel and the Italian government.

Police remained stationed in front of the consulate throughout the day, while on the opposite side a group of very young demonstrators spread banners, sang slogans and kept the sit-in alive. For one day, Florence witnessed its riverbank turned into a stage where hundreds of voices confronted the barriers of the American diplomatic mission.

On the same day in Pisa, a large pro-Palestinian march wound its way through the city center before reaching Piazza dei Miracoli and then the nearby San Rossore station. Hundreds of demonstrators occupied the tracks on platforms 2 and 3, forcing the immediate suspension of train services on the Pisa–Lucca line.

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