A dozen French police wounded in clashes with protesters opposing rail link in Alps

Activists take part in a protest against the Lyon-Turin rail link between France and Italy, in Les Chavannes-en-Maurienne, France, June 17, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

PARIS (Reuters) -Twelve police were wounded on Saturday in clashes with demonstrators in France's Savoie department where a protest against a high speed rail project in the Alps turned violent, authorities said.

Some 2,000 protesters, including a roughly 300-strong dark-clad hardcore, were in the Maurienne Valley objecting to construction of a rail link including a tunnel between Lyon and the Italian city of Turin.