The construction of a high-speed rail link between Italy and France will continue despite mounting protests, Prime Minister Mario Monti said here on Friday.

The High Speed Train (TAV) line, which will link northern Turin to Lyon in France, is a "physical link with Europe" fundamental for future generations, Monti told a press conference after holding a meeting with his government ministers on the project.

In years, the plan has been attentively examined, and also drastically modified following a number of meetings with the local population, Monti pointed out, adding his new government has further pondered the economic and environmental impact of the work.

"As a result, we confirmed our full conviction and commitment in the well-timed fulfillment of the work,"he stressed, adding that freedom of speech will be fully protected, but no violence is to be tolerated.

Protests against the project have mounted recently with demonstrations, pickets and other initiatives organized throughout the country, some of which turned violent.

Highways were blocked in several locations, especially in Susa Valley near Turin, where the line is planned to pass, while other protests have been announced for the next days.

Police used water cannons and baton charges to remove roadblocks on a highway in northern Italy that paralyzed traffic for over two days.

Some police were injured, and a few journalists were attacked and stolen during coverage of demonstrations, while a protester, Luca Abba, was hospitalized in intensive care earlier this week after receiving an electrical shock and falling from a high-tension pole.

Opponents say the project is a transfer of public money to a group of private companies, maintaining the money destined to the work would be better invested on improving public transport locally.

They also say the tunnel will harm the valley's beauty, creating pollution and damaging the health of local citizens.

Supporters of the project, including most Italian political parties and the European Commission, affirm instead that the link will actually decrease pollution by minimizing highway freight traffic.

Work on the main 57-km tunnel, of which the estimated cost is 8.2 billion euros (10.8 billion U.S. dollars), is due to begin in 2013 and go into service around 2023, local media said.

The project was first adopted in early 1990s, when Italy started developing high-speed train lines to provide with a railway network able to compete at the European level.