Francesco Franco (Reggio Calabria, March 28, 1930 – Reggio Calabria, November 16, 1991), also known as Ciccio Franco,
La Repubblica, November 17, 1991 was an Italian politician, trade unionist and activist. He was a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for the

Italian Social Movement The Italian Social Movement ( it, Movimento Sociale Italiano, MSI) was a neo-fascist political party in Italy. A far-right party, it presented itself until the 1990s as the defender of Italian fascism's legacy, and later moved towards national ...

– National Right ( it, Movimento Sociale Italiano – Destra Nazionale, MSI–DN) (1972–1991). He gained particular notoriety for his role as a popular leader during the

Reggio revolt The Reggio revolt occurred in Reggio Calabria, Italy, from July 1970 to February 1971. The cause of the protests was a government decision to make Catanzaro, not Reggio, regional capital of Calabria.Partridge, ''Italian politics today''p. 50/ref ...

of 1970–1971.

Reggio revolt

In July 1970, Franco, at the time a trade union leader from the National Italian Workers' Union (CISNAL) close to the neofascist movement, became the informal leader of the rebel Action Committee and of the revolt.La Rivolta di Reggio Calabria
Archivio'900 The cause of the protests was a government decision to make

Catanzaro Catanzaro (, or ; scn, label= Catanzarese, Catanzaru ; , or , ''Katastaríoi Lokrói''; ; la, Catacium), also known as the "City of the two Seas", is an Italian city of 86,183 inhabitants (2020), the capital of the Calabria region and of its p ...

, not

Reggio Calabria Reggio di Calabria ( scn, label= Southern Calabrian, Riggiu; el, label= Calabrian Greek, Ρήγι, Rìji), usually referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the largest city in Calabria. It has an estimated popul ...

, regional capital of

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

.Partridge, ''Italian politics today''
p. 50
/ref> On September 17, 1970, he was arrested along with other leaders of the revolt on charges of incitement in a police sweep that targeted some 100 people. The news about the arrest provoked violent reactions, in particular in the dilapidated Sbarre suburb in Reggio.
The New York Times, September 20, 1970 At least 6,000 policemen were deployed from many parts of Italy to try to stop the violence.
The New York Times, September 21, 1970 Franco was released on December 23, 1970. On January 31, 1971, four leaders of the rebel Action Committee were arrested on charges for instigating violence.
The New York Times, February 1, 1971 Franco was able to escape arrest initially, but was arrested on June 5, 1971, after a scuffle at a neo-fascist party rally in Rome.Leader of Revolt Arrested in Italy
Associated Press, June 7, 1971 In February 1971, journalist

Oriana Fallaci Oriana Fallaci (; 29 June 1929 – 15 September 2006) was an Italian journalist and author. A partisan during World War II, she had a long and successful journalistic career. Fallaci became famous worldwide for her coverage of war and revolution, ...

had been able to interview the fugitive Franco for ''

L'Europeo ''L'Europeo'' was a prominent Italian weekly news magazine launched on 4 November 1945, by the founder-editors Gianni Mazzocchi and Arrigo Benedetti.

''. He explained that many potentially leftist youths "today are fascists simply because they believe that the battle of Reggio is interpreted fairly only by the fascists."La brutta avventura di Reggio Calabria
La Repubblica, January 5, 2008 The revolt ended up by being taken over by neo-fascists (relevant was also the role of the militant neo-fascist movement National VanguardFerraresi, ''Threats to Democracy''
p. 67
/ref>) and led to unexpected electoral fortunes for the

at the Italian general election in May 1972, when Franco was elected senator. The neo-fascists benefitted, because the

Christian Democrats __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...

were divided, while the city was one of its fiefdoms, and the

Italian Communist Party The Italian Communist Party ( it, Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI) was a communist political party in Italy. The PCI was founded as ''Communist Party of Italy'' on 21 January 1921 in Livorno by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party (PSI). ...

(PCI) supported the suppression of the riots.

Senator

In 1972, Franco was investigated for distributing leaflets hostile to the anti-fascist demonstration organized by the left-wing trade unions in the city of Reggio Calabria on October 22, 1972. The night before the manifestation eight bombs exploded on trains to Reggio.Seduta di venerdì 2 febbraio 1973
Atti Parlamentari, Camera dei Deputati, February 2, 1973 Subsequent judicial investigations of charges of provocation and terrorism ended with his acquittal. He initially was convicted to four years but never served his sentence; the appeal never took place due to the expiration of the

statute of limitations A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In m ...

. His models were South European leaders like

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

António de Oliveira Salazar António de Oliveira Salazar (, , ; 28 April 1889 – 27 July 1970) was a Portuguese dictator who served as President of the Council of Ministers from 1932 to 1968. Having come to power under the ("National Dictatorship"), he reframed the re ...

and those of the

Greek junta The Greek junta or Regime of the Colonels, . Also known within Greece as just the Junta ( el, η Χούντα, i Choúnta, links=no, ), the Dictatorship ( el, η Δικτατορία, i Diktatoría, links=no, ) or the Seven Years ( el, η Ε ...

, he told journalist Fallaci in 1971. He also

denied the Holocaust Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: * ...

: "Of course, it was not plain sailing for the Jews in the time of Hitler, but we must distinguish between Jews and the Jewish phenomenon, and the Jewish phenomenon I fight because it is an enrichment phenomenon to the detriment of those who are in pain and suffering".Il subcomandante Ciccio Franco
La Repubblica, July 13, 2000 Franco was re-elected for four subsequent terms, serving in the Senate from 1972 until his death in 1991, as a member of the

. He died from a

brain stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

on November 16, 1991, in his hometown Reggio Calabria.

External links

Italian Senate Page

References

* Ferraresi Franco (1996).
Threats to Democracy: The Radical Right in Italy after the War
', Princeton (NJ): Princeton University Press, *Partridge, Hilary (1998).
Italian politics today
', Manchester: Manchester University Press, {{DEFAULTSORT:Franco, Francesco 1930 births 1991 deaths People from Reggio Calabria Italian fascists Italian Social Movement politicians Senators of Legislature VI of Italy Senators of Legislature VII of Italy Senators of Legislature VIII of Italy Senators of Legislature IX of Italy Senators of Legislature X of Italy Italian trade unionists