A 'No sitting' sign installed by the municipal administration of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia city of Monfalcone on a flight of steps usually used by migrant workers has sparked a major controversy. Many members of the large community of mainly South-East Asian foreign workers employed by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri at the nearby port sit down on the steps to eat their meals during breaks.
The center-right municipal administration of Monfalcone near Gorizia, led by the right-wing League party, has decided to place a 'no sitting' sign on the steps called 'Norma Cossetto' at the local port of Nazario Sauro.
The steps are usually used as a seating arrangement during meals by foreign workers, mainly from Southeast Asia. The majority of workers are long-term immigrants with Italian citizenship who are employed at the local shipyards of Fincantieri.
The sign was placed without a resolution or an administrative act. It reads: "Municipality of Monfalcone. No sitting on the steps." Since the sign was installed without the prior approval of a measure by the municipal administration, anyone failing to comply cannot be fined.
Read AlsoMonfalcone: No place to pray, if you are Muslim
Demonstration staged against controversial measure
The sign was placed on Tuesday, January 20, sparking a controversy and prompting a demonstration staged by residents. The flash mob lasted for about an hour on January 25, despite the battering rain, wind and freezing temperatures.
About 100 people sat on the steps, in front of the sign, and used pillows and empty garbage bags to protect themselves from the rain and as a sign of provocation. In fact, Monfalcone Mayor Luca Fasan has told reporters and members of the centre-left opposition that the ban is aimed at preventing garbage from being left on the steps.
However, some have questioned why the municipality did not install a 'no trash' sign, as waste could be thrown in the area even without sitting down.
Read AlsoMuslim migrants in Monfalcone look for a place to pray
Local opposition up in arms
Members of the city's opposition, center-left Democratic Party (PD) slammed the initiative as "messy" and "embarrassing".
"The initiatives of the administration remotely controlled by Anna Cisint", a League Party member of the European Parliament and the former mayor of Monfalcone, "are often inspired by ethnic intolerance masked as operations against degradation, but this time they took on grotesque characteristics and it is right to ridicule them", said in a statement Lucia Giurissa, the PD's deputy leader in Friuli-Venezia Giulia and a municipal councillor in Monfalcone.
Giurissa noted that, "once again, the target is the Bengali community regularly working in the shipyards."
The mayor of Monfalcone said the ban is temporary and will last until Easter, stressing that the aim of the sign is to prevent the area from becoming dirty.
The sign is the latest initiative accused of targeting foreign residents, who make up some 30 percent of the local population, including a ban on burkinis in the Marina Julia beach area of Monfalcone and on playing cricket.
Also, gates have been installed at the entrance of parks, benches have been removed from squares and prayer centres have been shut down.