An Italian official draws criticism for claiming that immigration causes "ethnic replacement."

Francesco Lollobrigida, the brother-in-law and close political ally of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, has warned that Italy’s low birth rate and an increase in irregular immigration could lead to “ethnic replacement”, sparking anger from the country’s opposition. He made the comments at a conference on Tuesday, where he said that incentives to have more babies should not mean women had to stay home to raise them. Elly Schlein, the new head of Italy’s Democratic Party, described Lollobrigida’s statement as “disgusting” and “reminiscent of the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini.” She accused Lollobrigida of reverting to the mentality of the 1930s, saying his words “have a flavor of white supremacism.” Lollobrigida said that while he was not against controlled immigration, irregular migration is a threat. He said that if there are requests for a workforce, when you have exhausted the internal demand, you must provide a workforce that also comes from other countries. Matteo Salvini, a junior partner in Meloni's coalition of far-right and center-right parties, had previously tweeted about the threat of "ethnic replacement" in 2017, and Meloni had used the term in political speeches in 2016.

Italy has had a record number of arrivals by sea this year, with 34,715 people arriving as of April 19, according to the Interior ministry. White supremacist groups and conservative media personalities have been condemned for attempting to inflame nativist feelings among conservative White populations by warning that immigrants are "replacing" native born populations. Replacement theory was first popularized by French writer Renaud Camus with his 2011 essay, "Le Grand Remplacement."