Bologna, July 20, 2026 – There is a ‘no’ front against the demonstration called by Mayor Matteo Lepore for this evening at 7 pm, under the Neptune, to “demand truth and justice” for the death of Abderrahim Fakir, the 42-year-old man who died during a police intervention in Pilastro. This phrase angers the center-right, and not only them.
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Meanwhile, the mayor clarified that it will be a moment of gathering and participation without speeches. “Bologna will face this tragedy as a democratic city that believes in the rule of law.”
Lega: “Why a square to demand the truth?”
“Mayor Lepore represents the whole city – thundered Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini in a connection with Radio Radio -, so beyond being a Pd militant, before calling for the square and before someone points to the two police officers as responsible, caution is needed.” Therefore, the Lega leader finds that “the first citizen who calls a demonstration in the square certainly does not help to ease the climate. Against whom is the sit-in? Against the two officers? And for whom?”. The same questions are asked by Anna Cisint, MEP of Lega, and Matteo Di Benedetto, Lega group leader in Bologna: “Why did Lepore call a square the day after to ‘demand truth’? Does he know someone wants to hide something? Or is he implying that the law enforcement wants to hide something? Why did he use official channels like the Municipality’s Telegram account, which are used for institutional communications, to call a square that, like the other evening in Pilastro, will end up being a square against the law enforcement?”, they wonder.
“The mayor’s duty is to call for calm”
Also the movement ‘A Bologna that changes’, determined to challenge Lepore’s re-election in the next local elections, contests: “In such a delicate moment, in which investigations are underway by the judiciary and competent bodies, the first duty of a mayor is to call for calm, lower the tone and guarantee trust in the Institutions. The law enforcement intervened following requests for help from residents and it will be the inquiry to clarify precisely what happened and to ascertain any responsibilities. For this reason, we consider it wrong to turn such a dramatic event into a political battleground before all facts are clarified”. The risk, for Ubcc, is to “fuel tensions”.
Forza Italia: “Does the presumption of innocence not exist for law enforcement?”
On the same line Giulio Venturi, city councilor of Forza Italia: “It is unworthy that the Bologna Left cries scandal and declares it wants to take to the streets without even knowing the facts. Lepore calling for the gathering seems like a guru ready to mobilize his followers.” Venturi recalls how Fakir had a criminal record and “had lost control, attacking the police and damaging a car. He was no saint. Does the presumption of innocence not exist for law enforcement?”
Favia also against the sit-in
Another political opponent of the Lepore administration, Giovanni Favia (United for Bologna) also contests the choice of tonight’s sit-in: “I find, for example, the hasty demonstration called by Lepore for the tragic death of Fakir incoherent and questionable” because “when you are head of an institution it is risky to ride a wave that you want to crash against another state body”. And since “we have not forgotten the militarization of the area and the vans that Lepore sent to defend the concrete pour for the useless ‘Children’s Museum'”, triggering “an urban guerrilla in an entire neighborhood against citizens defending a park”, according to Favia “it would be more appropriate for the mayor to leave that square to civil society, avoiding giving the impression of wanting to use such a delicate moment for consensus purposes.”
Even Azione does not accept the mayor’s invitation
Also Azione, which has already distanced itself several times from Lepore and the center-left coalition supporting him, while “joining the pain of the family for the tragic death of Abderrahim Fakir, will not participate in the sit-in called by the mayor. “Let’s avoid – write Marco Lombardo and Azione MEP, Elisabetta Gualmini – the risk of fueling rifts and divisions and not mobilize the city against law enforcement. Instead, we will intervene in every institutional venue, also through parliamentary questions and inspection acts, to make full clarity on the matter to protect the victim’s family and the honorability of law enforcement.”
The position of the unions
From parties to unions. The general secretary of Sap, Stefano Paoloni, emphasizing how “our profession is difficult and sometimes the unpredictable can happen,” censures the ‘ongoing exploitations’. For the unionist “very worrying is the choice of the mayor of Bologna, Matteo Lepore, to immediately distance himself from the colleagues’ actions without waiting for the necessary investigations and verifications to define the dynamics. The choice of the square, for which the mayor will have to take responsibility – underlines Paoloni –, is a very strong political stance and criticism towards the public security apparatus and the judiciary, towards which he shows no trust.”
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