Twelve weeks of persistent rioting by the gilets-jaunes across France failed to crack President Macron’s resolve yet an onslaught of verbal pot-shots from Italy’s leaders have set him alight. To such an extent that the French president has taken the sensational step of pulling his ambassador back from Rome for “talks”, pushing the two countries into the worst diplomatic crisis since the 1940s.
Macron’s government blamed what it called baseless and provocative attacks from the leaders of Italy’s two main coalition parties – the populist Five Star Movement and the far-right League – for its decision.
In its statement, the French foreign ministry said: “For several months France has been the subject of repeated accusations, unfounded attacks and outlandish claims. Having disagreements is one thing, but manipulating the relationship for electoral aims is another.”
The statement continued: ”The most recent interferences constitute an additional and unacceptable provocation. They violate the respect that is owed to democratic choices made by a nation which is a friend and an ally.”
Not mincing words, the French ministry went on to add that Italy’s behaviour was the worst of its kind since the Second World War: Benito Mussolini declared war on France in 1940.
Relations between Italy and France have been souring since last summer and started worsening when Macron compared the spread of populism in Europe to the spread of leprosy. He didn’t say so explicitly, but many observers saw that as a clear dig at the Italian so-called populist coalition government. It’s around that time Luigi Di Maio, deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Five Star group, and his fellow deputy PM, Matteo Salvini, first started criticising the French president over his handling of the migrant crisis among other issues.
But the latest provocation came to a head on Tuesday this week when Di Maio went to France to meet the so-called yellow vest protestors outside Paris to discuss their plans to field candidates on the European Parliament elections.
Di Maio went as far as posting a picture of himself on Twitter with Ingrid Levavasseur, who is heading a yellow-vest list for EU elections in May. Rather foolishly, he said: “The wind of change has crossed the Alps.”
The French retaliated, claiming that Di Maio’s visit to Paris was a “new provocation” and one quite unacceptable between neighbouring countries and partners at the heart of the EU.’ The Foreign Ministry added: “All of these actions are creating a serious situation which is raising questions about the Italian government’s intentions towards France.”
President Macron has put fighting populism at home in France, and in the EU, at the heart of his programme for government so Italy’s interference in his country’s internal affairs will have bitten deep. It comes as the latest polls show that support for Marine Le Pen’s populist party, which is emerging from the shadows after its defeat at the hands of Macron, is growing once again. Although Macron’s own ratings have ticked up slightly this year.
Migration is the most incendiary issue fuelling the tensions. It came to a head last year when the French government criticised Italy for refusing rescue boats carrying migrants to land in Italy with the Italian responding that France itself was refusing to accept the migrants.
Indeed, Italy claimed that France was sending migrants back across Italy’s northern borders. The spat worsened in January when France called in Italy’s ambassador for a ticking off after Di Maio claimed Paris had “never stopped colonising tens of African states”.
His fellow deputy PM, Salvini, has also attacked Macron directly, describing him as a “terrible” French president. He called on French voters not to back his La République En Marche party in the European vote and blamed Macron for the yellow vest protests. In a Facebook video, Salvini said: “I hope the French will be able to free themselves of a terrible president. The opportunity will come on May 26 ( the elections) when finally the French people will be able to take back control of their future, destiny, (and) pride, which are poorly represented by a character like Macron”.
What’s more, he has also accused France of harbouring 14 “terrorists” wanted by Italy, after a fugitive ex-militant was extradited from Bolivia, and criticised its role in the Libyan intervention.
There have been other minor disputes ranging from the Italian coalition government’s indecision about building the Lyon to Turin high-speed rail link because of the costs involved, to arguments about the celebrations for the Leonardo da Vinci exhibition to be held at the Louvre.
But none as sensational as this latest row which takes relations to an explosive level at such a fragile time in the EU’s short history. It’s not the first time an EU member has withdrawn an ambassador from a fellow member country. Greece recalled its ambassador to Austria in 2016 while Hungary pulled its representative from the Netherlands in 2017. The last time France withdrew its ambassador to Italy was in 1940: not a good omen. If Macron is smart, the president will send his ambassador back to Rome again as quickly as he can to cool the mood. Having one special place reserved in Dante’s hell for Brexit leaders is enough for one week. Eight more to go.
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Iain Martin and the team make sense of the news, providing commentary and analysis on the stories that matter in politics, geopolitics, economics and culture.