Hundreds protest in Milan ahead of the Winter Olympics | OneFootball

Hundreds of people protested in Milan on Friday, ahead of the Winter Olympic Games, while Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hosted world leaders, including US Vice President JD Vance.

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There was outrage in Italy over the presence of some agents from the US immigration agency, ICE, as part of the security for the American delegation. ICE operations in several US cities have sparked large-scale protests, and the recent killings of two demonstrators have caused outrage.

Hundreds of high school and university students from Milan gathered in front of the Polytechnic University of Milan to protest against ICE. “All of this is unacceptable to us,” said Leonardo Schiavi, a protester, to AFP, referring to Vance’s visit and the presence of ICE agents. Giacomo Calvi said he was protesting against the “American anti-immigration police, who practice all kinds of violence in the United States.”

The Italian government stated that ICE agents will have no operational role on its territory. The agents will be from ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations unit, a different division from the one accused of violence in the United States.

Inflation in Italy

There was another demonstration with hundreds of participants near the San Siro stadium in Milan, where the opening ceremony takes place this Friday, protesting against the rising prices of real estate. “These Olympics suck. They only serve to gentrify,” shouted hundreds of protesters.

In her meeting with Vance on Friday, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, one of the European leaders closest to President Donald Trump, said that sports and religion are “values that unite Italy and the US, Europe and the US, Western civilization.”

Vance praised Meloni for Italy’s organization of the Olympics and also hailed the “unity around shared values.” Meloni and Vance — a devout Catholic who converted in 2019 — last met in Rome after the election last year of Pope Leo XIV, the first American pontiff.

* With content from AFP

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