northern Italy
Police clear illegal rave with thousands of partygoers
Party guests on the site of a vacant factory building in Modena. photo
© Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via ZUMA Press/dpa
Around 3,500 people have been celebrating on an empty factory site in Modena since Saturday. Now the police end the Halloween party in a peaceful action.
The authorities in the northern Italian city of Modena have cleared an illegal rave party with thousands of techno fans that has been going on since Saturday. Around 300 police officers moved to the empty factory building on a deserted site on the outskirts of the city on Monday morning, as reported by several media.
Live recordings on the Internet showed how the ravers brought technical equipment out of the building or dismantled tents. At the beginning of the peaceful eviction, some ravers reportedly barricaded themselves inside – they initially wanted to continue partying.
According to the organizers, the party organized for Halloween, which at times had more than 3,500 guests, was supposed to last until Tuesday, according to the reports. The police made the revelers cancel the event and also took the personal details of hundreds of partygoers.
Already at the weekend, the illegal rave caused dissatisfaction with the new right-wing government in Rome. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi therefore ordered the police operation. In Italy, large illegal rave parties continue to make headlines. The right-wing governing parties want to stop the celebrations and plan to talk about new rules in the Council of Ministers on Monday. The leader of the right-wing Lega and Minister of Transport, Matteo Salvini, welcomed the eviction.