Staff Writer

Over 50 000 Italians on Saturday marched through San Giovanni square in Rome, in opposition to fascism, and in support of Italy’s newly passed coronavirus restrictions, which came into force on Friday.

Maurizio Landini, the head of the CGIL labour union, led the protest on Saturday, under the slogan: “Never Again Fascism”, arguing, “It is necessary to build an anti-fascist, democratic network for the whole continent… Democracy cannot be exported through wars, but by giving access to work and rights.”

This followed marches throughout the week in opposition to recent restrictions passed by the Italian government, which mandates vaccines for Italian workers, with employees having to provide their own PCR results every 48 to 72 hours, at their own cost, were they not to vaccinate. Employers can also be fined up to a thousand euros, were they deemed negligent in enforcing such laws.

Italy is currently the third hardest hit country in Europe in relation to the impact of the coronavirus. The countries’ economy had been projected to bounce by 6% in 2021, after falling last year, and these new measures have been taken with this in mind.

Protests have been common place since last week, with over 6 500 people marching in the port city of Trieste on Friday. A march last Sunday saw groups break into the offices of the CGIL union, and raise fascist symbols.

85% of Italians above 12 have already been provided a first vaccination, and are exempt from having to provide PCR results. However, over 3 million workers have not yet vaccinated, and some are refusing to do so. This will likely impede the economy, especially since around 30% of truckers are also not vaccinated, with many refusing the injection.

Some protesters even chanted in support of the trial of the 4 alleged to have been involved in the killing of Italian PHD student Giulio Regeni, which was supposed to begin this week, but was suspended, since the defendants supposedly may not have known that they were being charged.