France does not let Salvini’s latest criticism of Macron slide.
The Italian ambassador to France has been summoned to the French ministry of foreign affairs after Italy’s deputy premier Matteo Salvini took a swipe at French president Emmanuel Macron.
Ambassador Emanuela D’Alessandro was summoned on Thursday to discuss what the ministry termed “unacceptable” statements by Salvini, who serves as Italy’s transport minister and is leader of the right-wing Lega party.
During an event in Milan on Wednesday, Salvini was asked by a journalist what he thought of Macron’s proposal to send soldiers to Ukraine to protect it from a possible future attack by Russia, once a peace agreement is reached between the two countries.
Salvini responded caustically: “In Milan, they’d say ‘Taches al tram’ (hang on to the tram). Go yourself if you want to. Put on your helmet, your jacket, your rifle, and go to Ukraine”, addressing Macron directly.
The French foreign ministry reminded Ambassador D’Alessandro that such remarks “run counter to the climate of trust and the historic relationship between our two countries, as well as recent bilateral progress, which has highlighted strong convergence between Paris and Rome, notably in their unwavering support for Ukraine”, French news agency AFP reported, citing diplomatic sources in Paris.
The reference is specifically to the diplomatic efforts that led up to the meeting at the White House last Monday, where Macron, Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni and other European leaders attended high-stakes talks with US president Donald Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
Salvini’s barbed attack on Macron was nothing new. The most recent occasion when he publicly attacked the French president was in March, when he called him “crazy”.
Over the years he has labelled Macron a “warmonger”, a “hypocrite”, and “a polite gentleman who drinks too much champagne”.
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