Florence, young people amidst alcohol, fights and damage to shops: “Prey to gangs until 5 in the morning”
It is one of the centers of the nights of the buzz, in the heart of Florence, a stone’s throw from the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, the Regional Council and the Prefecture. It is in via de ‘Pucci that on Friday and Saturday evening in front of the Shot Caffè, ten young people, twenty-year-olds and even minors meet, many arrive here already altered, they bought alcohol in convenience stores, drunkenness is one step away. At that point you are ready for anything, even to beat up two policemen, as happened on Friday night. Between euphoric cries, coarse greetings, stadium chants, curses, profanity, and the inevitable damage to the dehors, to the windows and to the street doors, every weekend, from the beginning of September, the same film is always staged with the usual, predictable ending: the brawl. Like the one last week that broke out for very futile reasons between two gangs. If they are given a good reason: punches, pushes, kicks. And in the end, the glass and plastic covers of the Ricasoli coffee shop also destroyed some space. From above, from behind the windows – always closed – due to the din, the residents scream about everything. They can’t take it anymore. The drivers of buses, cars, taxis, ambulances have to make their way through the crowds that clog the road, now even worse than the pre-pandemic. If they try to honk their horns to get their way, when it’s okay they get insults. When it goes badly, the high-spirited kids cling to the vehicles and make them swing between the waves of those who are there to observe and film with their mobile phones. “Compared to two years ago, the situation has worsened – one few inhabitants remained in the area a dozen families who together with the merchants of Via ‘Pucci now explain to make a committee heard to prove their voice – various bands of minors start arriving around 11pm and do not leave until 5am . It is as if this were theirs, as if the territory was conquered. Those who dare to reproach them are attacked, between offenses and under. The day before yesterday, a boy insulted an elderly man who asked to receive the voice, violently inviting him to move house. They are rude, violent and aggressive ».
Via de ‘Pucci is back to be talked about, including drinks for 4 euros and shots for 2, even if many of the kids who find themselves in front of the club here «arrive already painted. And then you find them lying in every corner unconscious. But what good is there to be reduced like this? “, Asks a resident who, after having written several times to the Municipality and the municipal police, has decided to present, together with his condominiums, an exhibit to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, complete with photos, videos and reports sent to city institutions and remains a dead letter.
The other victims of this situation of degradation and daily insecurity are the merchants whose shop windows have been smashed with kicks and bottles. While at the Pucci bar they destroyed all the outdoor furniture, such as plants, tables and chairs. “To avoid arguing with these young people, who will be fifteen, at most twenty, I close the bar at 20 – explains the owner – But on Saturday and Sunday mornings they are forced to arrive a couple of hours early to clean up the entrances from urine, feces and vomit. What makes us angry is that, apart from what happened on Friday night, no one is defending us. The heart of Florence on the weekend cannot turn into a ring or drunk country. Prefect and Commissioner strike a blow ».
17 October 2021 | 11:41
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