Macron says 'won't respond' to populist Italian leaders

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French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday that he will not respond to criticism by populist Italian leaders Luigi Di Maio and Matteo Salvini because their words are of "no interest."

"I will not respond. That's what they want (for me to respond)... all of that is of no interest," the French head of state told reporters on the first day of a visit to Egypt.

"The Italian people are our friends and deserve leaders who match their history," he added.

(From L to R) Italy's Labor and Industry Minister and deputy PM Luigi Di Maio, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and Interior Minister and deputy PM Matteo Salvini attend a press conference to present the new economic law in Rome, January 17, 2019. /VCG Photo

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After visiting Egypt, Macron is expected to be in Cyprus on Tuesday afternoon to take part in a summit of southern EU countries – known as the Med7 – where he is due to meet Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

While Conte has recently spoken of the "historical friendship" between France and Italy, his Interior Minister Salvini has been trying to organize a far-right challenge to pro-Europeans within the EU bloc, and has said he hopes that the French people will soon be free of a "very bad president."

"I am close, with all my heart and all my work, to the French people, the millions of men and women who live in France with a very bad government and a very bad president," Salvini said in a video on his Facebook page.

A demonstrator wearing a yellow vest displays an anti-Macron slogan reading "The social war will start, Macron out" in Paris, January 26, 2019. /VCG Photo

Last Sunday, Italy's Deputy Prime Minister Di Maio – who heads the anti-establishment Five Star movement – accused France of "impoverishing" Africa and pushing migrants to join Europe through political "colonization."

France's Foreign Ministry summoned Italy's ambassador in the wake of these comments.

Analysts expect the campaign for European Parliament elections in May to involve a battle between liberal pro-Europeans and right-wing populists.

(Cover: French President Emmanuel Macron (R, front) and his wife Brigitte visit the temple of Abu Simbel in southern Egypt, January 27, 2019. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): AFP