Giorgia Meloni calms things down and plays complicity with Paris. “I never had any problems with France, and I still don’t have any today. Among other things, I had an exchange of messages with Emmanuel Macron a few days ago, ”says the Italian Prime Minister in a daily interview. Il Corriere della Sera published on Tuesday.
According to Elysian sources, the French president exchanged messages on Saturday with Giorgia Meloni and notably “expressed his support and solidarity after the dramatic events on the island of Ischia”, in the Bay of Naples (south), hit by a deadly landslide.
The same morning, Emmanuel Macron had celebrated the first anniversary of the Franco-Italian friendship treaty of the Quirinal with two tweets, one in each language, with a small video montage.
These demonstrations of friendship contrast with the tensions caused by the stranding of hundreds of migrants in early November off Italy on humanitarian ships. The French government then denounced the “unacceptable behavior” of the Italian authorities, judging it “contrary to the law of the sea and the spirit of European solidarity”.
“It’s normal for France and Italy to talk to each other,” says Meloni
Critics kicked in touch Tuesday by the post-fascist leader: “Beyond the statements of some members of the French government on migrants (…) our bilateral relations continue”.
The French president was the first foreign leader to meet Giorgia Meloni in Rome, the very day he took office.
Asked by Corriere on the possibility of a new meeting with the French president, she replied that “it is not yet on the calendar”. And to add: “But we will certainly have to meet again”.
“We are people with government responsibilities working to find solutions. It is normal for Italy and France to talk to each other,” concludes the leader.