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Protester holding a sign with sardines, Florence, November 30, 2019. FILIPPO MONTEFORTE / AFP

Founded by four thirty-something friends in Bologna two weeks ago, the sardine movement has already managed to mobilize tens of thousands of people in the squares of Italy, thanks to social networks. The sardines aim to fight peacefully against far-right parties, including Matteo Salvini's League.

from our correspondent in Rome,

They defend the idea of ​​a society free from hatred and violence. Saturday, November 30, thousands of supporters gathered in Florence. Sunday, December 1, the sardines, which were joined by the famous writer Roberto Saviano, invaded the huge square of the Duomo of Milan.

► See also : In Italy, "sardines" as new opposition

The mobilizing force of this new movement can be explained by the turbo engine of sardines, which gather in tight schools like these small fish, hence the name of the movement. This engine is the digital communication platforms used to go from virtual to real. In the space of two weeks, the Facebook page "Sardines archipelago" already has 170,000 members and the discussions follow one another continuously.

This goes for the meaning to be given to this movement that follows no party, inspired by the principles of anti-fascism and clearly anti-Salvini, whose calls to manifest pass through funny and touching photos. Like the one posted by an 84-year-old sociologist, wearing a long sardine-shaped dress, out of solidarity with the movement. And then, there are many messages of hope, like this one: " I am fifty years old and it is the first time that I manifest because I feel in a living community ".

Increase their visibility

Twitter is particularly used during the events, the first of which was held in Bologna on 14 November. For example, we read this tweet from a student in Florence, " We're tired of hate, " which was retweeted more than 1000 times in three hours. There are also groups that are created on WhatsApp. And Instagram is very used to post videos, filmed during flash-mobs.

See this post on Instagram

If sta come #Sardine #lesardinedimilano #milanononsilega

A publication shared by Alessandra Giordano (@nonnasalice) on 2 Dec. 2019 at 1: 22 PST

There is also a communication by mail that goes from friend to friend, colleague to colleague, and in which we often read poems, which mark the peaceful aspect of the movement. One could read one, inspired by the song of the Italian partisans, Bella Ciao , sung at each gathering of sardines. Small excerpt: " Our dream is equality, O Bella ciao, ciao, ciao, a sardine woke me up! "

Dozens of protests have already taken place all over Italy. The latest one has gathered 25,000 people, Sunday, December 1, in Milan. The next big rendez-vous for sardines is announced on the Facebook page of the Rome group, opened by a Kenyan journalist, Stephen Ogongo. A mega national gathering will be held December 14 in the capital, on the famous place Saint-Jean-de-Latran.