France and Italy have continued their unprecedented war of words, with Paris defending its decision to recall its ambassador to Rome, attacking the “nationalist leprosy” eating away at Europe and insisting “playtime is over”, reports The Guardian.
Italy’s deputy prime minister, Luigi Di Maio, accused successive French governments of pursuing ultra-liberal policies that have “increased citizens’ insecurity and sharply reduced spending power”, and renewed his backing for the country’s gilets jaunes (yellow vest) protest movement.
The French government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said the symbolic recall of the ambassador to Rome, the first since Italy declared war on France in June 1940, was a temporary measure, but he restated Paris’s case.
“It was important to make a statement, because Italy is a historic ally and also a founding member of the European Union,” Griveaux said on Friday, adding that the decision was prompted by months of “unfounded attacks” from the leaders of Italy’s anti-establishment populist Five Star Movement (M5S) and far-right League.
France’s European affairs minister, Nathalie Loiseau, said Thursday’s move was “not about being dramatic” but about making clear that neighbours, allies and important trading partners should not interfere in each other’s domestic affairs.
“It’s about saying ‘playtime is over’,” she said. “The first thing for a government to do is to look after its people’s welfare.”
Italy’s two deputy prime ministers, Di Maio, of M5S and Matteo Salvini, of the League, have launched a series of increasingly personal attacks on the French president, Emmanuel Macron, who is attempting to rally Europe’s liberals against populist nationalists gaining ground across the continent.