Thousands rally in Rome, Italy for rival pro- and anti-migration marches

Thousands of police deployed to keep the rallies apart as far-right ‘remigration’ initiative gains traction.Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets of the Italian capital for rival demonstrations over migration policy, as a far-right proposal seeking hardline migration measures is set to advance to discussion in parliament.An anti-migration march in Rom’s Prati neighbourhood on Saturday drew several thousand participants, while a competing pro-migration event in a separate part of the city attracted tens of thousands.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Italy recovers 10 bodies as boat with nearly 60 on board capsizes off Maltalist 2 of 3International court rejects Rwanda’s claim over UK migration deallist 3 of 3‘Like mice in a cage’: Inside Europe’s prison overcrowding crisisend of listThousands of police were also deployed to ensure the two rival groups would remain apart.The demonstrations come after a petition advocating for sweeping measures targeting foreigners – including coercive returns to their countries of origin – gathered the 50,000 signatures needed to trigger parliamentary discussion.Named “remigration-and-reconquest" class="entity-link entity-topic" data-entity-id="145860" data-entity-type="topic">remigration and Reconquest,” the petition has pushed the once-fringe concept of “remigration” – which in far-right contexts can mean the mass deportation of ethnic minorities – into the political mainstream.“We want to kick the illegal immigrants out – force them out, because they shouldn’t be here,” Luca Marsella, spokesman for the neofascist group Casapound, said at the anti-migrant rally Saturday.“And since we’re not politically correct, we’ll say we want to send the legal immigrants home, too – the ones who clearly haven’t assimilated or integrated.”On several occasions during the anti-migrant march, many participants raised their arms in a fascist salute, shouting “Duce! Duce!,” in reference to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, reported The Associated Press.People hold a banner in Italian reading “Skin and sweat have the same colour, no deportation,” during a pro-migration march in Rome, June 13 [Gregorio Borgia/AP Photo]‘Incompatible with Italian constitution’The debate on migration represents a delicate balancing act for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing coalition.