Some 30,000 people took to the streets of Rome on June 21 to protest war and rising military expenditures. Organized under the banner “Disarmiamoli!” (Let’s disarm them!), the demonstration brought together workers, grassroots trade unions, student collectives, and social movements. Protesters condemned the expansion of military budgets across Europe, coming at the direct expense of public services like healthcare, education, and other public services.
“Forty billion [euros] more will be gradually handed over to war instead of addressing our real needs, schools, hospitals, emergency services and environmental transition, and social support for those in need,” the Disarmiamoli! network stated ahead of the protest.
Non in nostro nome! #disarmiamoli pic.twitter.com/GkFyFA3a1P
— Potere al Popolo (@potere_alpopolo) June 23, 2025
Italy’s reality in this context mirrors broader European trends. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her government have aligned closely with the US-led global agenda, including on military policy. This alignment includes acceptance of US President Donald Trump’s demand that European NATO members raise defense spending to 5% of GDP – a hike that would primarily benefit US arms manufacturers while deepening Europe’s dependence on Washington.
European arms corporations also stand to profit. Most EU countries are expected to endorse this spending increase at the NATO summit in The Hague on June 24–25. “Military spending will enrich the arms industry,” said Potere al Popolo’s (Power to the People) Marta Collot during the protest. “The bulk of this money will go to large American, Turkish, and Israeli companies. Around 40% will end up in the hands of Europe’s own arms giants: Leonardo, Rheinmetall, Thales.” These same firms have supplied the Israeli military with weapons used in its ongoing genocide in Gaza, with many deliveries routed through Italian and other European ports.
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“In this context, continuing to fund weapons, military missions, and aggressive alliances like NATO – which is complicit in the genocide in Gaza committed by the terrorist state of Israel – is a political, social, and moral crime that must be openly denounced,” said the grassroots trade union Unione Sindacale di Base (USB).
A separate protest, organized by Italy’s mainstream center-left, also took place the same day. Although it called for an end to war, it notably avoided criticizing NATO, the EU’s rearmament agenda, or the increasing pressure from the US to fully submit to its military strategy. In response, Disarmiamoli! welcomed those who joined in good faith but urged for a more decisive and principled stance in building a national anti-war movement. They emphasized that any effective campaign at this point must be explicit: no to NATO, no to ReArm Europe, no to Fortress Europe, no to the far right, and full solidarity with Palestine, including support for the BDS campaign and the Palestinian liberation struggle.
Read more: Disarming Europe: Movements take steps towards building a continent of peace
“We have to dismantle this war alliance; we must shut down all stars-and-stripes military bases in Italy and withdraw any diplomatic or material support for the Israel-US war drive,” Collot said in a statement following the protest. “Zionist terrorism is showing its true face: it’s a threat to the whole world.”
As news broke that the US had bombed Iranian nuclear sites shortly after the demonstration, Disarmiamoli! called for immediate protests across Italy. “Today [June 23] we’ll take to the streets across Italy to stop the war in the Middle East and reaffirm what was made clear on June 21: there is real opposition in this country, and there is an alternative to their Third World War,” Collot posted on social media.
