Thousands March in Castel Volturno Against Planned Migrant Detention Center
Thousands of demonstrators marched through Castel Volturno in southern Italy on October 24, 2026, against a planned migrant detention and repatriation centre…
Italy's government plan for a new migrant detention centre has drawn a crowd that includes the Church and regional leaders. Italy thousands protest planned detention facility in Castel Volturno, a town in the south of the country, on Saturday, October 24, 2026.
The demonstrators opposed a proposed repatriation centre, known in Italy as a Centro di Permanenza per il Rimpatrio (CPR). They called instead for more investment in jobs, public services and better living conditions.
Marching under the slogan "Build the Country, Not Cages," the crowd included students, trade unionists, lawyers, religious leaders, civil society groups and migrant communities. The demonstration was peaceful. Police monitored the procession, which brought together Italians and immigrants.
Crowd estimates varied widely. Some reports put attendance at about 2,000, while others suggested between 10,000 and 20,000 participants.
Church leaders join the opposition
Cardinal Domenico Battaglia, Archbishop of Naples, took part along with other bishops from the Campania region and regional president Roberto Fico. Battaglia gave one of the day's strongest appeals.
"I ask those who govern to stop, to listen to this land, to give up the CPR project in Castel Volturno, and to take responsibility for moving beyond the CPR system," he said. "I ask it as a priest, with the Gospel open."
He rejected the habit of linking immigration with crime. Detention in a CPR, he stressed, is an administrative measure tied to deportation procedures, not punishment after a criminal conviction.
"The problem is not immigrants," he said. "It is inequality and the mafias."
The cardinal also pointed to a contradiction. Italy relies on migrant labour, he argued, yet many foreign workers struggle to secure stable legal status. Migrants take demanding jobs, including night shifts, but often meet barriers to recognition and integration.
Wider discontent across Italy
The march took place amid protests in several Italian cities, including Rome, Milan, Turin and Naples. Demonstrators there have raised concerns about economic hardship, government spending priorities, housing costs and immigration policy.
Since mid-October, students, workers, farmers and other groups have mobilised over grievances ranging from rising living costs and fuel prices to military spending, international conflicts and proposed migrant detention facilities.
Elsewhere the mood turned tense. Reports from demonstrations described confrontations between protesters and security forces, particularly in Milan, where arrests and incidents of vandalism were reported. Other cities also saw tensions between police and demonstrators.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned violence linked to the protests. She maintained that the right to demonstrate must not become an excuse for disorder or attacks on public property.
In Castel Volturno, organisers kept their focus on the proposed detention centre and what they called misplaced government priorities.
A €43 million project
At the centre of the dispute is a repatriation facility reportedly valued at €43 million, intended to hold migrants awaiting removal from Italy.
Source: panafricanvisions.com
