“The words spoken by French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin are unacceptable,” responded Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.
Gérald Darmanin raises his voice in the face of the management of migrants on the other side of the Alps. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni “is unable to solve the migratory problems” of Italy, a country which is experiencing a “very serious crisis” in the matter, affirmed, Thursday, May 4, the Minister of the Interior at the microphone of RMC. “The words spoken by the French Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin are unacceptable”responded Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, immediately canceling his planned visit to France.
For its part, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs tried to calm the situation at the start of the afternoon. “The French government wishes to work with Italy to face the common challenge represented by the rapid increase in migratory flows”, announced the Quai d’Orsay, recalling that the bilateral relationship was “based on mutual respect, between our two countries and between their leaders”.
“Meloni is like Le Pen”
Gérald Darmanin launched this diplomatic quarrel by reacting to remarks by the president of the National Rally (RN), Jordan Bardella, concerning the situation on the Franco-Italian border. “Madam Meloni, the far-right government chosen by Madame Le Pen’s friends, is incapable of solving the migratory problems on which she was elected”, slammed the French Interior Minister, interviewed on the program “Les Grandes Gueules”.
“Yes, there is an influx of migrants and especially minors” in the south of France, admitted Gérald Darmanin, who puts the blame on the Italian neighbor: “The truth is that there is in Tunisia (…) a political situation which means that many children, in particular, go up through Italy and that Italy is incapable (…) of manage this migratory pressure”he insisted.
“Meloni, it’s like Le Pen, she gets elected on ‘you’re going to see what you’re going to see’ and then what we see is that [l’immigration] don’t stop and let it get bigger”, continued Gérald Darmanin. According to the Italian Interior Ministry, more than 36,000 people have arrived via the Mediterranean in Italy this year, compared to around 9,000 during the same period in 2022.