Thousands march in Rome in anti- and pro-migration rallies

ROME (AP) — Tens of thousands of people marched through the streets of the Italian capital in anti- and pro- migration demonstrations Saturday, after a far-right citizens’ initiative seeking sweeping measures against migrants garnered enough support to be brought to Parliament.

A petition by the initiative, named “Remigration and Reconquest,” gathered the 50,000 signatures needed to trigger parliamentary discussion, pushing the once-fringe concept of “remigration” into the political mainstream. No date has been scheduled yet for a vote.

The proposal, promoted by right-wing groups, calls for sweeping measures targeting foreigners, including coercive returns, incentives to leave Italy and broader policies critics say could extend to legal residents.

Several thousand demonstrators from around Italy gathered for the anti-migration march, singing the national anthem. On several occasions, many of them raised their arms in the fascist salute, shouting “Duce! Duce!," a reference to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, who ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943.

A rival, pro-migration demonstration saw tens of thousands of people take to the streets in another part of Rome Saturday evening. That march was attended by various left-wing groups and trade unions, with some demonstrators waving Palestinian flags.

Thousands of police were deployed to ensure the two rival groups would remain apart. No violence was reported.

The debate on migration represents a delicate balancing act for Premier Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing coalition. While the anti-migration League has backed opening discussion, Meloni’s Brothers of Italy and centrist allies have been more cautious about endorsing a proposal linked to extremist circles, amid concerns over legal risks and internal divisions.

Critics, including opposition parties and legal experts, argue the proposal would violate constitutional and international anti-discrimination principles by targeting people based on ethnic background, including naturalized citizens and their descendants.

The controversy comes even as Meloni’s government pursues a parallel policy of expanding legal migration, having approved a multiyear plan to admit hundreds of thousands of non-EU workers to address labor shortages in key economic sectors.

The demonstrations in Rome a day after a new set of European Union rules came into effect governing how each of the bloc's 27 member states will deal with irregular migration and asylum seekers.

The European Migration and Asylum Pact is the culmination of years of grueling negotiations that overhauled the previous system, which was widely considered a failure and gave far-right parties a potent issue to win votes.

Demonstrators shout slogans as they gather during a protest organized by right-wing groups, calling for the repatriation of migrants, in Rome, Saturday, June 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Demonstrators shout slogans as they gather during a protest organized by right-wing groups, calling for the repatriation of migrants, in Rome, Saturday, June 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Demonstrators light flares during a march in Rome, Saturday, June 13, 2026, to protest Italy's security and migration package, including a migrant "repatriation bonus" scheme criticized by opposition parties and legal groups as unconstitutional and ethically problematic. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

People hold a banner in Italian reading "Skin and sweat have the same color, no deportation' during a march in Rome, Saturday, June 13, 2026, to protest Italy's security and migration package, including a migrant "repatriation bonus" scheme criticized by opposition parties and legal groups as unconstitutional and ethically problematic. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

TRACY, Calif. (AP) — Officials in a Northern California city urged people sensitive to smoke to keep indoors as firefighters spent a third day Saturday battling a fire in a huge medical equipment warehouse.

Air quality on the south side of Tracy, a city of 100,000 people where the Medline warehouse fire has been burning since Thursday, was in the “unhealthy” range, according to air monitors.

Firefighters expected the next few days to remain smoky amid a lengthy effort to put out the fire inside the building, South San Joaquin County Fire Authority Fire Chief Randall Bradley said in a statement.

The local fire marshal was investigating, and officials are meeting with company representatives, structural engineers and others to assess the building, Bradley said.

Plans were being made for employees to retrieve their vehicles from the site. Meanwhile, firefighters urged people to avoid the area and not touch or move debris from the fire.

Medline is a major provider of medical-surgical products such as latex gloves, masks and surgical instruments.

The blaze at the 1 million-square-foot (93,000-square-meter) warehouse about 55 miles (88.5 kilometers) east of San Francisco sent embers flying for miles.

Poorly functioning sprinklers and hydrants with little to no flow hindered firefighter efforts. The problem appeared to be with the facility’s fire-suppression system and not city water supplies, they said.

No issues were found when an outside company tested the sprinkler system in January, firefighters said.

Smoke is seen from the massive fire at the Medline medical supply warehouse a million-foot facility, in Tracy, Calif., Friday, June 12, 2026. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

This image from aerial video shows black smoke pouring into the sky from a fire at a medical equipment warehouse in Tracy, Calif., Thursday, June 11, 2026. (KGO via AP)

Smoke from a medical supply warehouse fire in Tracy, Calif., is seen from Livermore on Thursday, June 11, 2026. (Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Smoke is seen from the massive fire at the Medline medical supply warehouse in Tracy, Calif., Friday, June 12, 2026. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)