Italian Deputy Prime Minister calls for limiting the number of foreign students in schools

Matteo Salvini said the decision to give children a day off at the end of Ramadan represented a “concession”; Italian values ​​Photo: ANGELO CARCONI/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

Italy's Deputy Prime Minister demanded a limit on the number of foreign students in a class after a school decided to close for Ramadan to accommodate Muslim students.

Matteo Salvini, who heads the far-right League party and is a key member of the coalition government, said a decision by a school in northern Italy to give children the day off at the end of Ramadan represented a “retreat” from Italian values. .

He said the country's classrooms should have no more than 20 percent foreign students.

The school in the town of Pioltello, near Milan, will close on April 10 to mark Eid al-Adha. al-Fitr. About 40 percent of his children are Muslim, and teachers say they are unlikely to come, so it would be better to officially declare the holiday.

The decision has sparked a row over multiculturalism in a country that is still struggling over how best to integrate the growing immigrant population.

Mr Salvini is battling Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to cement his nationalist views into the future. European elections in June.

While they are nominally partners in a coalition government, they are also rivals: Ms Meloni heads the Brothers of Italy party, which has completely eclipsed the League over the past couple of years. years.

The school “gave in to Ramadan” by agreeing to close for the religious holiday, Mr. Salvini said.

“We need to limit the number of foreign students in our classes,” he said, proposing a cap of 20 percent. “I don’t believe that any Muslim country will close its schools at Easter or Christmas.”

The industrial north of Italy, especially Milan and its hinterland, has a large immigrant population, not only from Muslim countries, but also from other countries. also South America and Eastern Europe.

The decision to close the school was condemned by several right-wing politicians, with League MEP Silvia Sardone calling it “scandalous.”

However, MPs from the opposition left-wing party blamed Mr Salvini in using the debate to advance his own interests. “Salvini doesn’t want to encourage integration,” said Irene Manzi of the center-left Democratic Party. «The message he is promoting is the same one he conveys every day regarding immigration.»

The latest polls show the League with just nine percent of the vote nationwide, compared with 28 percent for Mr. Zhi Meloni.