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Clashes between police and protesters in Florence and other Italian cities are due to “violent extremists” seeking to exploit the coronavirus (COVID-19) emergency. This was announced by the Italian Minister of the Interior, quoted by “AFP”.
Protesters took to the streets last week in Italian cities, including Rome, Naples and Turin, to criticize a new set of restrictions to halt the alarming rise in coronavirus infections, even after the government is considering tougher measures. .
An unauthorized protest in the Renaissance city of Florence last night turned violent after police tried to bar about 200 people gathered in the city center from entering Piazza Signoria.
Clashes broke out between riot police and protesters, some of whom threw Molotov cocktails, bottles and stones, overturned garbage cans and smashed security cameras.
“Unfortunately, there are violent extremists who try to penetrate the squares to take advantage of the social and economic unrest at this difficult time,” Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese told Il Foglio.
Lamorgese said protesters included youth with criminal records, soccer hooligans and far-right activists who “find opportunities to exploit legal demonstrations.”
Florence Mayor Dario Nardella wrote on Facebook that the city had experienced a “surreal, horrible and painful night.”
“This is not the way to protest your complaints, this is not the way to express your suffering,” Nardella wrote.
“Those who wreak havoc in Florence must pay for what they have done,” he said.
In Bologna, about 80 kilometers from Florence, several hundred people also protested last night, most of them young people, including soccer hooligans and some doing a typical fascist salute.
The protests came after Italy reported 31,084 new infections yesterday, a record in the 24 hours after the country’s outbreak.
The Italian government is considering imposing blockades in the country’s main cities, including Milan, Rome and Naples, to try to stem the alarming increase in the number of infected people.
“We met with experts and are considering the possibility of intervening again,” Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said.
Italy, the first European country to be hit hard by the pandemic in March, suffered more than two months of quarantine that devastated an already troubled economy.
On Sunday, Italy introduced new national COVID-19 restrictive measures, including closing all cinemas, theaters, gyms and swimming pools and closing restaurants and bars at 6 p.m.
The new restrictions sparked a wave of demonstrations in Rome, Milan, Naples and Turin on Monday and Tuesday, marked by violence and vandalism, with riot police using tear gas at groups of youths throwing bottles and stones.
Earlier today, the president of the southern district of Campania signed a new decree to close schools before November 14.
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