eight activists of the Ultima Generazione (Last Generation) group have poured a black liquid and carbon into the Fontana di Trevione of the best-known sources in the city of Rome, to demand the end of the use of fossil fuels.
“We don’t pay for fossils”, read the banner displayed by the activists as they chanted slogans such as “Our country is dying” amid insults from some passers-by and tourists.
This same Sunday at the Turin Book Fair, activists from the feminist group Ni Una Menos and from Extinction Rebellion have carried out two actions, the first against the Minister of the Family, Eugenia Maria Roccella, to present the book ‘A radical family’ and the second have recalled the floods that are currently affecting the region of Emilia Romagna.
Police stand guard at the Fontana di Trevi fountain in central Rome on May 21, 2023 after activists spilled black liquid
“We want to denounce the responsibility of our Government in the face of the tragedy that affects our territory today. The dead of Emilia Romagna beg us to let’s take off the blindfolds and demand a change from our governments”, highlighted Extinctoin Rebellion.
The Government and its supporters have criticized this act “anti-democratic and anti-liberal”. “They have prevented other women from speaking and presenting a book that talks a lot about women and feminism and that would have fascinated them if they had read it,” Roccella said in a message on Facebook.
The President of the Senate, Ignazio La Russa, has condemned “a new anti-democratic act” and the Minister for Relations with Parliament, Luca Ciriani, has criticized “activists who obviously do not have the most basic notions of what a democracy is”. .
The opposition, on the other hand, has called attention to the attacks against the director of the Book Fair, Nicola Lagioia, whom they reproach for his lukewarmness with the protest. “This is the climate created by the right-wing government. It is worrying,” said the Democratic Party deputies represented in the Parliament’s Culture Committee.
“It is unacceptable (…). Equally unacceptable is the response of those who always turn around what has happened and distort reality to justify the attempt to prevent a Minister of the Republic from expressing her opinions. As always, those who say they are giving us lessons in democracy are unaware of the most basic rules,” Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stressed.