“Malta should take note”: what lesson are we being asked to learn from Europe’s unrest?

The devastating fire at Limoges town hall should make anyone pause before presenting Europe’s unrest as an example for Malta to follow. Images of the historic building’s spire collapsing in flames show how quickly public disorder can destroy a heritage that belongs to everyone.

The town hall dates from 1883. The roof and belfry collapsed during the fire on 17 October, leaving the city to face the loss and restoration of an important public landmark. This was damage to a shared inheritance, with consequences that will outlast the demonstrations. (euronews.com)

According to The Telegraph, French police arrested Hodei Ciarra Docampo, 34, on suspicion of involvement in the attack. The newspaper described him as an “ultra-left” militant. French reporting says the arrest took place in Val-d’Issoire, with support from the elite RAID police unit. The suspect was reportedly on a security watchlist because of his links to the radical left. Le Monde also reported that he had previously been convicted of assaulting a police officer during a demonstration. (tf1info.fr, lemonde.fr)

Against this background, MaltaToday’s presentation deserves scrutiny. As the accompanying screenshots show, it published the headline: “Europe’s youth are rebelling. Malta should take note”. In my view, that presentation risks romanticising unrest while leaving the distinction between democratic protest and violent disorder insufficiently clear.

There is also the question of consistency. Imagine this website publishing a similarly provocative headline alongside images of burning vehicles and suggesting that Malta should take note. Would my critics interpret it generously as an invitation to reflect on social grievances? Or would they accuse me of encouraging disorder and employing fascist tactics? I suspect the response would be very different.

Malta should certainly take its young people seriously. It should also take seriously the protection of public buildings, historic monuments and the people whose lives and livelihoods are disrupted by violence. We have already had a national monument usurped and vandalised, with the approval of our courts, by groups that have grown around Daphne Caruana Galizia’s cause and are inspired by this dangerous leftist ideology.

The destruction at Limoges began with the idea that occupying public buildings and monuments is a civic duty. Yet a community loses when protest gives way to arson.

At least in Malta, when these associations invited young people to flock to Valletta to protest and listen to music by bands inspired by these extreme-left ideologies, the young people did not take the bait. The crowd that attended was made up of the usual suspects, all my age or older.

Those who tell Malta to take note should be clear about which example they want us to follow. Their attitude became clear when, in another post by the same newspaper hailing these revolts in France, they closed the comments section to avoid a barrage of comments from members of the public who did not fall in line or support these disturbances.