On August 23, local officials said that the French government had summoned the Italian Ambassador after Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini made some tough statements to President Emmanuel Macron.
Earlier, when asked to comment on President Macron's move to call for allies to deploy troops to Ukraine earlier this week, Deputy Prime Minister Salvini said: "You go if you want to. Put on helmets, wear jackets, hold guns and go to Ukraine.
Mr. Salvini - the popularist leader of the left-wing Federation and also the Italian Transport Minister in the popular and conservative government led by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni - has repeatedly criticized Mr. Macron, especially on the issue of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Mr. Macron - a strong supporter of Ukraine in the conflict with Russia - has been working with other world leaders, especially British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, to mobilize support for Kiev in the event of a ceasefire.
Notably, the summons of the Italian Ambassador marks the latest diplomatic conflict in a series of incidents between Paris and Rome before and after Meloni took power in 2022.
The French official said that when summoned, the ambassador was reminded that the Italian Deputy Prime Minister's comments "go back to the atmosphere of trust and the historical relationship between the two countries, as well as recent bilateral developments, which have highlighted the strong convergence between the two countries, especially in terms of steadfast support for Ukraine".
