Parasol planted by digging in the sand, towel spread out and everything is ready for the day at the beach. Except that the Mare Libero activists were not on the free part of the coast, but in Twiga, the exclusive seaside establishment of Flavio Briatore in Versilia. The concession for the plant, like all the others, expired on December 31 and the exemptions approved by certain municipalities are not valid, as reiterated on April 30 by the Council of State, which invited the government to launch new calls for tenders applying the Bolkenstein directive. . The protest was not well received by customers of the establishment which belonged to the Minister of Tourism Daniela Santanché and which, over the years, has seen many well-known personalities from politics, business, sport and entertainment. Annoyed, from their tents, they invited the demonstrators to express their disagreement elsewhere.
“The beach belongs to everyone”
But the activists remained true to their slogan – “the beach belongs to everyone” – until late in the afternoon, when they dismantled the umbrellas and left the coast without police intervention. Scenes similar to those seen yesterday in Papeete, a developed beach dear to the Minister of Infrastructure Matteo Salvini. In the morning, the candidate for the European elections from the United States of Europe list, Antonella Soldo, presented herself at the factory in Milano Marittima (Ravenna), accompanied by other demonstrators and European flags. “The citizens pay, and the lobbies get richer and richer,” said Soldo, fencing off part of the beach between umbrellas and deckchairs with a red and white ribbon.
Citizens pay and lobbies get rich
“Those who, like Salvini, say 'less Europe', only defend the interests of a few friends and, fortunately, the European institutions are asking Italy to return the national beaches to the Italians. An establishment like this pays a monthly fee of 850 euros and charges around 3 million per year. There are regions like this, Emilia-Romagna, where almost 70% of the beaches are occupied by bathing establishments, in some municipalities in these regions this even reaches 100%. While it is increasingly difficult to find a free beach and there is no national rule that sets a maximum percentage of beaches that can be granted under concession,” recalled the candidate.
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