Italy: Giorgia Meloni's government at war with rave parties
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, October 31, 2022 in Rome.
© Roberto Monaldo / AP
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
Rave parties are now banned in Italy.
A decree by the government of Giorgia Meloni prohibits unauthorized festive gatherings of more than 50 people in public or private grounds and buildings and provides for penalties of up to six years in prison for the organizers.
A threat to any spontaneous demonstration for the opposition which denounces a police state.
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With our correspondent in Rome,
Anne Tréca
The 3,000 revelers in Modena, northern Italy, were the first to bear the brunt of the reform of the Penal Code, adopted on Monday October 31 by the
new right-wing government led by Giorgia Meloni
.
Gathered in a disused hangar since Saturday October 29 for three days of techno music, dance, alcohol and drugs in freedom, they were evacuated Monday October 31 in peace.
The police arrested 14 organizers and seized the event's sound equipment, worth €150,000.
To justify the operation, the Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi, specifies that the shed of the party was in danger of collapsing.
However, the new decree prohibits illegal gatherings if they threaten health or public order.
In recent years there have been several incidents in Italy, where people come from all over Europe for rave parties which have been largely tolerated until now.
Fear of the opposition
But for the opposition, this new ban risks undermining freedom of expression.
“
It is a serious mistake.
Raves have nothing to do with such a text.
It is the freedom of the citizens which is called into question
”, alarmed the boss of the Democratic Party, Enrico Letta, on Twitter.
It could be used for other police operations, against gatherings of students in schools or universities for example.
The government refutes with the force of its majority.
More than half of voters.
Il Governo ritiri il primo comma dell' #art434bis di riforma del Codice Penale.
È a serious error.
I #rave non c'entrano nulla con una norma simile.
È la #libertà dei cittadini che così viene messa in discussione.
#NoArt434bis.
— Enrico Letta (@EnricoLetta) November 1, 2022
►Also listen: Accents from Europe - The specter of fascism haunts Italy
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