French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday launched a broadside against Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, asking her to stop “commenting on what is happening in other people’s countries.”This comes after Meloni condemned the killing of a far-right activist, Quentin Deranque, claiming that the incident was “a wound for all of Europe.”
Deranque, 23, died from head injuries after being attacked by at least six people last week on the sidelines of a far-right protest at a university in the city of Lyon.Most of the 11 suspects detained are from far-left movements, news agency AFP reported, citing sources.“If everyone just minded their own business, things would be just fine. Let everyone stay in their own lane,” Macron shot back in New Delhi.Macron also said there was no place in France “for movements that adopt and legitimise violence.”“Nothing can justify violent action — neither on one side nor the other, and not even in a head-to-head confrontation that is deadly for the republic,” he said.Macron said he was “struck by the fact that people who are nationalists, who don’t want to be bothered at home, are always the first to comment on what is happening in other countries.”Meanwhile, a member of the French president’s team told news agency AFP that Macron is “concerned about the situation, which he is closely monitoring.”“We must avoid any spiral of violence,” they said.Meanwhile, officials close to the Italian PM said Macron’s comments were met “with astonishment” and insisted that Meloni’s statement was meant to “show solidarity with the French people affected by this terrible event and that in no way interfere in France’s internal affairs.”“Frankly, I’ve been very surprised by this declaration from Macron. I was not expecting it. My reflection is not about France but about the risks of polarization,” Meloni told Sky later in the day.“I am sorry Macron perceived it as interference. Interference is something else, for instance, when a leader is elected by his citizens, and a foreign country says we will monitor on the rule of law. That’s interference,” she added, in a reference to when the French government said it would monitor rule of law in Italy days after Meloni’s election win.Among them are two parliamentary assistants to Raphael Arnault, a member of parliament from the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party, as well as a former intern.
