Paris/Rome - The repeated verbal attacks by Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini against French President Emmanuel Macron have led to a serious diplomatic incident. On Friday, the French Foreign Ministry summoned the Italian ambassador Emanuela D'Alessandro to Paris to lodge an official protest against the "unacceptable statements" made by the Lega leader. The dispute reignited over Macron's stance on sending troops to Ukraine.
"Put on a helmet and go to Ukraine"
The diplomatic escalation was triggered by Salvini's comments last Thursday in Milan. In response to Macron's public considerations of possibly sending ground troops to Ukraine, Salvini sharply challenged the president: "Put on a helmet, put on a vest, grab a gun and go to Ukraine." According to French diplomatic circles, such comments undermine the climate of trust and historical relations between the two countries. Paris emphasized that the comments contradicted the otherwise close cooperation in supporting Kiev.
A long history of provocations
The latest incident is just the tip of a long series of provocations by Salvini. The Lega leader regularly refers to Macron publicly as a "warmonger" and "bomber" and strictly rejects the idea of a Macron-led European army. In the past, he has also attacked the French president with personal insults such as "hypocrite", "windbag" and "criminal". The repeated attacks have now brought relations between the two important EU partners to a new low and exposed the fundamental political differences on the security issue.
