Thousands of people took to the streets of the Italian capital Rome on Saturday for anti-immigration and anti-immigration rallies.
Several thousand protesters turned out across Italy for a far-right, anti-immigration march.
Why were right-wing protesters marching in Rome?
This march was organized in the name of a citizen initiative bill “Migration and Reconquest,” which wants to take sweeping measures against immigrants, collected the 50,000 signatures needed to get it through Parliament.
Many protesters raised their arms in a fascist salute and shouted “Deuce” – a reference to fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, who ruled Italy from 1922 until his death in 1943.
The term “migration” has been used in recent years by far-right groups across Europe as part of calls to curb immigration and reduce the number of foreign migrants, including deportation.
What do we know about the pro-immigration counterargument?
On the other side of Rome, thousands of people from several left-wing groups and trade unions joined a rival, pro-immigration rally.
Rome’s police commissioner, Roberto Masucci, said thousands of police were deployed “to facilitate spaces of freedom and expression.” No violence was reported.
The debate over migration has become a political balancing act for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing coalition.
Although the right-wing populist and anti-immigration Lega (“League”) party has welcomed the debate raised by the “migration” bill, the Meloni Brothers of Italy and its centrist coalition partners are more cautious.
Critics of the citizens’ initiative cite concerns about the legality of the bill, arguing that it discriminates against people based on their ethnic background and therefore violates Italy’s Constitution and EU law.
In fact Meloni’s government has sought to expand legal immigration since coming to power to deal with labor shortages in several key sectors. From 2023 to 2025, Italy plans to allow 452,000 non-EU workers to enter the country.
The rival march in Rome came a day after the European Union introduced new rules on how its member states deal with irregular migration and asylum seekers.
Edited by: Carl Sexton
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