Paramilitary Carabinieri intervened in Venaus 60 kilometres (40 miles) from Turin to remove the protesters from the site where geological probes were to be carried out for the TGV line through the Val di Susa.

"No one that we helped was seriously injured," an official with the rescue services said.

The situation remained tense as several hundred protestors were still around the construction site.

The site was chosen to cut a 53-kilometre (33-mile) cross-border train tunnel into France, arousing the anger of people living in the region who question the usefulness, cost and environmental consequences of the project.

Several dozen demonstrators were also gathered at the railroad station in Avigliane and were blocking rail traffic on the line from Turin to Modane.

All rights reserved. � 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.