ROME: Italy stepped up security for mass demonstrations by far-right and anti-fascist groups across the country on Saturday as tensions rise ahead of next week’s general election.
There has been a dramatic increase of violent clashes between anti-fascist and far-right activists in recent weeks, particularly after a racially motivated attack on Feb. 3 by a far-right gunman in the central city of Macerata that left six African migrants wounded.
Three thousand police were mobilized in Rome on Saturday for two marches and three “sit-ins” by both left and right groups likely to draw up to 20,000 people.
Former Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi was expected to attend the largest demonstration in Italy’s capital, organized by the National Association of Italian Partisans (ANPI), under the slogan “Fascism Never Again.”
Another anti-fascist protest in Rome, organized by a left-wing union, will rail against the Jobs Act, a flagship reform of Renzi’s government. One of the sit-ins will be hosted by Giorgia Meloni, head of the far-right Brothers of Italy party.
Roberto Fiore, head of the extreme-right Forza Nuova group, will march in Palermo, Sicily, after one of his party’s activists was beaten up by men wearing masks there on Tuesday.
The far-left Potere al Popolo movement will also hold a rally in Palermo.
Matteo Salvini, the head of The League, will attend a demonstration in Milan. The far-right group formerly known as the Northern League is part of former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s right-wing coalition, along with Brothers of Italy.
The far-right CasaPound movement will also march in Milan.
Yet another demonstration will be held in Brescia, northern Italy, where an ANPI social center was torched on Thursday night.
On the same day three police officers were injured after clashes with anti-fascist protesters demonstrating against a CasaPound meeting in the northwestern city of Turin.
The spike in violence comes amid fears of a revival of far-right parties in the Mar. 4 election.
An average of the last major polls suggested Berlusconi’s right-wing coalition could finish on top, but fail to achieve a parliamentary majority.
Italy braces for anti-fascist and far-right protests
Italy braces for anti-fascist and far-right protests
Spain to ban social media for children under 16, prime minister tells WGS
- Pedro Sanchez: Our children are exposed to a space they were never meant to navigate alone
- Sanchez: A space of addiction, abuse, pornography, manipulation, violence. We will no longer accept that, and we will protect them from the digital Wild West
DUBAI: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced on Tuesday that his country will seek to ban children aged under 16 from using social media platforms.
Speaking at the World Government Summit in Dubai, Sanchez outlined a six-point plan he said would help restore the “promised land” it once was.
“Our children are exposed to a space they were never meant to navigate alone,” he said.
“A space of addiction, abuse, pornography, manipulation, violence. We will no longer accept that, and we will protect them from the digital Wild West.”
The announcement follows a similar ban by Australia last year. French lawmakers also passed a bill last week that would ban those aged under 15 from accessing social platforms. The UK has also announced it is considering new controls.
To enforce the ban, the Spanish government will reportedly seek to order platforms to put in place stringent age verification methods. It also plans to introduce a new bill next week to hold social media executives accountable for illegal and hateful content.
Sanchez added that Spain had joined five other European countries that he labelled the “Coalition of the Digitally Willing” to coordinate and enforce cross-border regulation.
