Italian Police Clash With Students as New Premier Mario Monti Prepares to Unveil Crisis Plan

ROME – Students clashed with police in protests across Italy against budget cuts, while transport strikes idled buses and trains, as Italian Premier Mario Monti prepared to unveil his anti-crisis strategy.

Police in riot gear scuffled with students in Milan, where they hoped to march to Bocconi University, which forms Italy's business elite. Monti, an economist, is Bocconi's president.

In Palermo, Sicily, demonstrators hurled eggs and smoke bombs at a bank, and protesters threw rocks at police, the Italian news agency ANSA said.

In Rome, hundreds of students gathered outside Sapienza University, while others assembled near the main train station. They planned to march to the Senate, where Monti was scheduled to speak ahead of an evening confidence vote on the new government.