Irregular Moroccan man tears and tramples the Italian flag in Florence, will be repatriated

A man of Moroccan origin detached the tricolor flag from the wall near the Santa Maria Novella station in Florence, throwing it to the ground and trampling on it. The video went viral. The Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosi announced that the person responsible, identified and illegal in the area, was taken to a CPR with a view to repatriation

A man of Moroccan origin, irregular on Italian territory, will be repatriated after having torn, thrown to the ground and trampled the tricolor flag in Florence, near the Santa Maria Novella station. This was announced by the Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosi, explaining that the person responsible for the gesture (filmed in a video that went viral) was identified and taken to a Repatriation Detention Center (CPR).

The measure announced by Piantedosi

"The foreign citizen who in Florence, after having detached it from the wall, threw the tricolor flag to the ground and offended it was immediately identified", wrote Piantedosi on X, also posting the video of the episode. "The man, illegal in the territory, was taken to a CPR where he will be held to be repatriated to his country of origin". The minister added that in Italy "our laws and our rules must be followed, but above all the symbols that represent the deepest values ​​on which our democracy is based must be respected and honoured".

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Gesture and identification

The episode dates back to the night between Saturday and Sunday, in via Alamanni, a few steps from the Florentine railway station. The video, which captures the moment in which the man tears the Tricolore and kicks it, quickly spread around the web. The police identified the person responsible, a 25-year-old already known to the police.

The political reactions

The case sparked a reaction from the majority. Harsh sentences came from Lega, Forza Italia and Fratelli d'Italia, with the request for immediate expulsion in case of irregular position and revocation of the residence permit for those who are regularly in Italy. Several representatives recalled that insulting the flag constitutes a crime under the Criminal Code.