Anti-Remigration Summit: Fratoianni in Milan Speaks Out Against "Infamous Concepts, Expel Neo-Nazis from Italy"
Rewritten Article:
The Remigration Summit hosted in Gallarate, Italy, has kicked up a storm of criticism, as Nicola Fratoianni, secretary of Sinistra Italiana, puts it, "not strong ideas, but infamy." And if an Interior Minister, Matteo Piantedosi, appears unbothered, it's a concerning sign, right?
Nicola Fratoianni found himself at the heart of a counter-protest in Piazza San Babila, Milan, against the Gallarate Summit. The square buzzed with energy, a huge peace flag fluttering onstage. Before serenading "Bella Ciao," the Modena City Ramblers wished everyone a "Happy 25th April all year round."
The crowd was a veritable who's who of Italian politics. Between Elly Schlein, Angelo Bonelli, the PD deputy Silvia Roggiani, the secretary of PD Milan metropolitan area Alessandro Capelli, and CGIL leader Maurizio Landini, it was clear that the Remigration Summit had struck a raw nerve.
Together, they took turns at the microphones, voicing their outrage against the Remigration Summit of that very morning held at the Teatro Comunale in Gallarate, with the backing of the leghist mayor Andrea Cassani.
"This is a powerful response from this square against the racist Europeans sanctioned by a party in power," declared the PD secretary.
"We are troubled by a majority party (the League) that champions the president of this region and supports the Remigration Summit," added Capelli. "We are concerned that the vice-secretary of that party, General Vannacci, sends signals of solidarity and closeness, and that the leader of the Lombardy group goes to listen to the delusions."
The rally, marked by xenophobic and neo-Nazi ideas, and advocating mass expulsions as a solution to immigration, found not just the support of the League but also that of Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, who referred to the ideas as "legitimate contributions."
"I have the obligation to guarantee the free expression of thought by anyone – he added – except thoughts that are inherently harmful to others' legal sphere or the Constitution. So, I don't think there's a contradiction."
The rally in Milan, entitled by associations and opposed by many, promoted a truck with the slogan "Good as bread, beautiful as antifascism," echoing a much-debated incident involving an Ascoli Piceno baker last April 25th.
Protests against Remigration commenced early in Gallarate, garnering roughly 200 participants in a flash mob organized by the left. Shouting "shame," the participants gathered in Piazza Libertà, just a stone's throw from the Teatro Condominio where the Summit transpired.
"We are many here saying that we don't want those who want to deport millions of foreigners," asserted PD senator Alessandro Alfieri. "People to whom the use of a municipal theater, i.e., a public space, has been granted by a leghist mayor. After all, Salvini has thrown off the mask by approving this presence in the name of freedom of speech."
The Identitarian Movement, the group supporting the Remigration Summit, is a growing ethnocultural group with roots in France and Italy, known for its opposition to immigration, particularly from Islamic countries. The event, organized by Andrea Ballarati, attracted around 400 right-wing activists and politicians, including figures like Jean-Yves Le Gallou, Martin Sellner, and Eva Vlaardingerbroek.
Despite the backlash, the Remigration Summit went ahead with European right-wing figures in attendance, sparking controversy and resistance from political leaders and the public, reflecting broader societal tensions surrounding immigration and extremism in Europe.
- The Remigration Summit, with its controversial policy-and-legislation, raised concerns among political leaders and the public, as it was met with protests in Piazza Libertà, Gallarate, and Piazza San Babila, Milan.
- The Remigration Summit, advocating for mass expulsions and xenophobic ideologies, was not only backed by the League and Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, but also by European right-wing figures, leading to general-news headlines and crime-and-justice debates.
