Italy's government is accelerating a security decree after violent clashes in Turin that left more than 100 officers injured and a policeman beaten with a hammer by masked protesters, an attack that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called an "assassination attempt."

The officer, 29-year-old Alessandro Calista, of the Padua police, was surrounded by masked demonstrators and repeatedly hit - including with a hammer - before another officer intervened with a shield to pull him out of the crowd, the Telegraph reports.

He suffered several blows and a hammer injury, but was released from hospital later on Sunday, along with at least one other officer also admitted to Turin's Molinette hospital.

Authorities arrested three men aged 22, 31 and 35 after Saturday's violence during a demonstration in support of the anarchist social center Askatasuna.

The 22-year-old from the province of Grosseto was taken into custody and identified from video footage as one of those who attacked Calista.

He faces charges of conspiracy to cause personal injury to a public official during a public order demonstration, along with robbery charges for taking Calista's shield, equipment and gas mask.

Several government ministers are seeking charges of attempted murder instead of assault.

In addition, more than 20 individuals were reported by police on various charges, including improper possession of weapons, resisting authorities, and disguising oneself, with objects such as rocks, keys, and knives seized from some.

Authorities said 108 security personnel were injured in the clashes, including 96 police officers, seven financial police and five carabinieri.

Protesters threw bottles, rocks, homemade incendiary devices and smoke bombs, set fire to trash cans and an armored police vehicle, and used street furniture and uprooted lampposts as weapons.

Police said the most aggressive group numbered approximately 1,500 protesters, including participants from France and Northern Europe, raising concerns about public order planning ahead of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in 2026.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the violence, calling the attack on the officer an "attempted murder" - language she repeated after visiting the wounded officers at Molinette hospital on Sunday.

She announced that the government will accelerate a security package that is already under development, holding a meeting on Monday to finalize the measures that are expected to go to the Council of Ministers later in the week.

Measures being considered include preventive police detention of at least 12 hours for repeat violent offenders, restrictions on the sale of knives to minors, and expanded self-defense protections that extend beyond police to other citizens.

"When you hit someone with a hammer, you do so knowing that the consequences could be very, very serious. This is not a protest, these are not clashes. This is called attempted murder," Meloni said on Sunday.

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi will brief parliament on Tuesday on the violence, which government officials called "urban terrorism" and "assassination attempts." /Telegraph/

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