Italy calls for clearer apology from France over migration 'insult'
FILE PHOTO: Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media ahead of the arrival of a plane carrying evacuees from Sudan, at Ciampino airport near Rome, Italy, April 24, 2023. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
ROME: Italy remains dissatisfied with the apologies offered by Paris after a French minister accused Rome of mishandling the influx of migrants, Italy's foreign minister Antonio Tajani said on Sunday (May 7).
"Clearer words are needed," Tajani, who is member of the conservative Forza Italia party, told Italian state-owned television RAI in an interview.
"I hope that the French government changes its position and that an apology comes that represents a contrast to the positions adopted by the Interior Minister. I will be happy to accept them."
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said last week that Italy's right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had been "unable to solve the migration problems on which she was elected". Darmanin added that Meloni was "lying" to voters that she could end the migrant crisis.
Tajani called off a visit to Paris at the last minute on Thursday in a sign of protest over what he considered an "insult" to Italy.
French government spokesman Olivier Veran sought to defuse tensions on Friday, telling CNews he was sure there had been no desire on the part of the Darmanin to ostracise Italy.
