The rough relationship that France and Italy had been maintaining for months was not normal. Emmanuel Macron and Georgia Meloni met yesterday at the Elysée to put an end to the acrimony, the sharp tone, between their leaders, and to seek consensus again between two neighbors who are not only neighbors but founding partners of the EU, NATO allies and members of the exclusive G-7 club.
Aware of the tension in the environment, of the fact that they ran the risk of falling into a trap and making an inappropriate comment, the French president and the Italian prime minister limited themselves to making a statement – ??17 minutes in total – without accepting questions afterwards of the press This allowed them to adjust to the script, to the common decompression strategy.
Macron took the opportunity to express his condolences for the recent death of Silvio Berlusconi – of whom Meloni was a young minister – but he was brief in this regard and immediately went on to praise his hostess “for her great clarity in the commitment to Ukraine”. In France, the strong Atlanticist position and support for Kyiv of the head of the Italian Executive does not go unnoticed, an absolute contrast with the attitude of the leader of the native extreme right, Marine Le Pen, who is still lukewarm today with Vladimir Putin, already a supporter of negotiations and skeptical about the massive shipment of Western weapons. In fact, Le Pen has always aligned much more with Matteo Salvini, the head of the League, another pro-Russian, than with Meloni.
The host knew what his guest wanted to hear. That is why he spoke of “more effectively organizing” immigration and asylum policy” in the EU and was interested in stabilizing Tunisia, a country that in the past has caused very serious migration crises for Italy.
It is difficult that Macron’s words have made it possible to reverse a very deep Italian mistrust. Rome has for years felt abandoned by its partners, France in particular, which did not lend a helping hand (while Spain, Germany and even Norway did, sending rescue ships ) when Italy was overwhelmed by the arrival of thousands of people in shepherds every day. That is why the words of the French Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, were hurtful in May, when he said that the Italian Government had been elected to solve the migration problem and showed that it was “incapable” of doing so. The outburst led to the cancellation of a trip to Paris by the Italian head of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, and forced his French counterpart, Catherine Colonna, to fly weeks later to Rome to resolve the grievance.
Macron, who is in love with Naples, emphasized that in France and Italy, in their economies, societies and artists, they are united by “a unique relationship”. “It is this friendship that matters to me in the first place – he insisted -. The lady president of the Council knows it (I had taken care of her before)”. “It is what allows controversies, disagreements to be lived sometimes, but in a context that is always respectful because it is part of a history bigger than us, deeper, that has fueled our imaginaries, our artists, our adventures collectives”.
In turn, Meloni, who was visiting Paris for the first time in his new position, emphasized the fact that “Italy and France are two linked nations, central and protagonists in the EU, who need dialogue, especially at a time like this one, because our common interests are many and converging.” The Italian premier mentioned the close collaboration of the two defense industries, one of the results of which is a joint anti-aircraft system that has been deployed in Ukraine. Meloni guaranteed that French and Italian support for Ukraine will remain solid, without any cracks. He used the expression “360 degrees”.
On immigration, Meloni reiterated what he thinks. “We cannot continue to consent to this slavery of the third millennium”, he said, referring to the mafias of traffickers. “We need to collaborate to find alternatives for legal migration and guarantee the right not to emigrate”, he added.
Regarding European economic policy, the Italian leader was in favor of a new Stability and Growth Pact that gives priority to investments in future policies. That is why he warned the countries of the rigor that “we must not return to parameters that would be unacceptable”.
Macron and Meloni discussed the issues that will be addressed at the European Council at the end of the month in Brussels and at the NATO summit in Vilnius in mid-June.
Neither one nor the other mentioned Rome’s bid to organize Expo 2030, one of the reasons for Meloni’s presence in the French capital. The support offered by Macron to Riyadh – during last week’s meeting at the Elysee with the Saudi crown prince, Muhammad bin Salman – was a final reason for the Franco-Italian friction. In Rome, they don’t care that a partner and ally country does not support them, that Paris gives shameless priority to the great economic benefits of taking care of the relationship with the Saudis. They consider it a betrayal.
Before arriving at the Elysée, Meloni, who always prides herself on being a soca-rel Roman, was promoting her city’s candidacy at the International Bureau of Exhibitions (BIE), whose general assembly will take the final decision, in a vote, in November. In addition to Rome, there is Busan (South Korea) and Riyadh. Prince Bin Salman already passed through the Elysée and so did the South Korean president, Yoon Suk-Yeol. Meloni was the last to seek Macron’s complicity. An obligatory step but, barring a surprise, probably useless. The Franco-Italian melodrama will continue.
