Italy braces for protests at G7 summit,
Shopkeepers board up their businesses as protesters, police expected to fill streets
GIARDINI NAXOS, ITALY— Most restaurants, pubs and ice cream parlours along the famous seaside of this tourist-friendly Sicilian town are literally battening down the hatches.
Wooden planks and metal sheets now fortify most of their fronts, parasols are disappearing from the beach and police units constantly patrol the streets as the nearly 10,000 residents of this ancient Greek colony brace for impact ahead of a planned protest march on Saturday against the Group of Seven meetings in the next-door city of Taormina — where demonstrations have been strictly forbidden.
Fearing outbursts of violence during the rally, the economic heart of the seaside town is temporarily shutting down at the very inception of the summer season.
“We’re expecting between 3,000 and 4,000 protesters and more than 2,000 journalists” said Nello Lo Turco, 65, a former math teacher who for the past eight years has been the mayor of a town used to a different kind of invasion, with up to 50,000 tourists every summer.
At least a thousand law enforcement agents are stationed here, a local police official said on the condition of anonymity.
“All of them are ready to wear their riot gear,” the official explained. “It’s a tradition for events like this one.”
The mayor seems to agree with the spirit of the protest.
“They’re putting their finger on the sore spot,” Lo Turco said. Most town residents, including those who seemed to be preparing for a siege, recognize the protesters’ right to express their opinions.
“Everyone is free to protest. Their protest against these ‘greats’ is fair,” said Maurizio Donato, 39, owner of an ice-cream parlour on the seaside.
“I hope that nothing happens, but I’m afraid,” he said. “It feels like we’re bracing for a hurricane.”