Tens of thousands of people marched through Rome on Saturday in support of the 5 Star Movement's call to protest the European Union's rearmament agenda.  Giuseppe Conte, the leader of the 5 Star Movement and former Prime Minister, began the march by attacking Giorgia Meloni's government and the rearmament plan proposed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Conte declared, "Today, we are giving a resounding and unequivocal 'no' to the squandering of 800 billion to rearm Europe. This is a monstrous idea." He also stated, "Giorgia Meloni approved the plan to rearm Europe without any mandate, and this is yet another failure of her government that will be remembered for generations." Antonio Tajani, the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, criticized the demonstration. "I don't understand what the M5S wants. They say they want peace, but when Conte was in government, he gave more money to defense".