Police on Thursday clashed with climate protestors who were seeking to block access to the Milan Conference Centre, MiCO, the venue for the Pre-COP meeting that opens today and runs until Saturday.
A video seen by ANSA shows police in riot gear use batons on the young protestors.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Premier Mario Draghi and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday are taking part in the Pre-COP, which is the final formal, multilateral opportunity for ministers to shape the negotiations in detail ahead of the COP26 UN Climate Conference in Glasgow in November.
They are also set to address the Youth4Climate conference, in which young activists such as Swede Greta Thunberg, Uganda's Vanessa Nakate and Italy's Martina Comparelli are demanding immediate climate action.
Draghi met Thunberg, Nakate and Comparelli at the offices of the Milan prefect on Thursday.
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