Alerts: government sets evacuation threshold, with prefects retaining powers
The government has set out a common approach to alerts: receiving a mass email alone, without additional concrete evidence of danger, should not trigger the evacuation of buildings.[1]
Palazzo Chigi’s November 12 statement describes the protocol as already operational across all public administrations, while saying it will be defined at a technical meeting of the Interministerial Committee for the Security of the Republic scheduled for the afternoon.[1]
It is therefore not an account of an afternoon meeting that has already concluded.[1]
**The prefect retains discretion.** The general rule does not rule out evacuations: the statement expressly preserves the prefect’s power to order them when specific, concrete evidence indicates an actual risk.[1][2]
ANSA’s 11:10am dispatch reports the same distinction between a mass email and additional evidence of danger.[2]
The issue is not to ignore threats, but to distinguish a mass communication from a situation supported by concrete evidence: this is the threshold described by the government, not permission to disregard the authorities’ instructions.[1]
**After talks with the opposition.** In its 12:45pm update, Sky TG24 reports that the morning meeting at Palazzo Chigi took place and attributes its account of Meloni’s appeal for unity to some of the participants.[3]
The outlet also reports Elly Schlein’s willingness to cooperate, alongside her rejection of a “blank cheque” and her call for discussions to continue in Parliament and the parliamentary intelligence oversight committee, Copasir.[3]
Schlein says no specific proposals were presented at the meeting: that is the Democratic Party leader’s position, not a denial that the subsequent government statement exists.[3]
Il Post reports fresh alerts at schools in the late morning and places the government’s protocol announcement shortly before those incidents.[4]
The development beyond the morning’s planned talks is therefore an official operational approach, with an explicit safeguard for concrete risks, while the afternoon technical stage remains announced.[1][2]
## Sources
[1] https://www.governo.it/it/articolo/definizione-del-protocollo-operativo-comune-la-gestione-delle-segnalazioni-di-allarme/33090 — Palazzo Chigi, protocollo operativo comune
[2] https://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/topnews/2026/11/12/nel-pomeriggio-riunione-tecnica-sul-protocollo-di-gestione-degli-allarmi_b1c439a4-ab2e-4099-9002-bf3bd3567399.html — ANSA, riunione tecnica nel pomeriggio, 11:10
[3] https://tg24.sky.it/politica/2026/11/12/allarmi-bomba-scuole-riunione-governo-palazzo-chigi — Sky TG24, aggiornamento delle 12:45
[4] https://www.ilpost.it/2026/11/12/nuovi-allarmi-bomba-scuole-italia — Il Post, nuovi allarmi nelle scuole