Italy’s new right-wing government signaled on Monday that it would crack down on unlicensed rave parties, with organizers facing up to six years in prison for organizing such events. The move followed a weekend Halloween party in an abandoned warehouse near the northern city of Modena that attracted more than 1,000 people from Italy and abroad and sparked complaints about the noise and its impact on traffic in the area. “We have shown that the state will not turn a blind eye and fail to act when faced with a breach of the law,” Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told a news conference, saying Italy must tighten rules to bring it in line with Europeans neighbours. . Meloni, whose government took office in October pledging to be tough on law and order, reported a larger rave last year in the city of Viterbo, in which two deaths were reported and an area of natural beauty damaged. “The impression given by the Italian state in recent years is one of laxity in terms of respect for the rules and the law,” he said. Under proposals agreed by her government, those behind such parties could in future face three to six years in prison and the confiscation of equipment used in raves. The new offense will apply to unauthorized gatherings of at least 50 people that pose a risk to public health, security or order, Interior Minister Matteo Piandedosi told a news conference. The party in Modena, which was scheduled to last until Tuesday, ended peacefully at lunchtime on Monday when revelers agreed with police who had gathered at the scene to turn down the music and head home. “Happy Halloween to everyone, except those from half of Europe who came to cause chaos in Modena, Italy with an illegal rave party,” Matteo Salvini, leader of the Lega party, said on Twitter. The League is part of Meloni’s coalition, which extends to the hard-right Brothers of Italy party and former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s mainstream conservative Forza Italia. ($1 = 1.0118 euros) Report by Angelo Amante. Keith Weir writes. Edited by Alvise Armellini and Alison Williams Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
