Battle over Italy’s beaches

In Italy, even though the beaches are public property, the government rents out stretches of beach to beach club operators. And those licenses are handed down from father to son for generations, creating monopolies. The EU has decided to get involved. It says that this practice violates a competition clause. And now, it is forcing the beach club licenses to be reallocated through a fair bidding process. The operators are not happy, as The World’s Sarah Birnbaum reports. 

Will you support The World with a monthly donation?

Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you. We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.

Make a gift today, and you’ll help us unlock a matching gift of $67,000!