PARIS – “Thank you, I agree with what you just said.” In the meeting behind closed doors in the halls of the Elysée, Emmanuel Macron uses very cordial tones with Sergio Mattarella. The two heads of state call each other “you”, the Italian president is French-speaking and at ease. Together they tackle the most immediate dossiers, from the conference on Europe to the G20 led by Italy, to the immigration issue that Macron introduces when talking about Africa. “In Italy, someone is under the illusion that it is possible to put the no entry sign” replies Mattarella in the confidential interview, broadcast by a TV channel of the Elysée to which Repubblica has had access. Macron is equally frank when he admits that in Libya “there have been tensions and frictions in the past” between Italy and France. “But now we are working closely – he continues – and we are having the first results even if we must continue the pressure on the Turks and Russians”.
“Recognizing the trauma of the Years of Lead”. A turning point that Macron had been preparing for some time, the acceleration with the arrival of Draghi
by our correspondent Anais Ginori
Macron has organized things big. The procession that takes Mattarella to the Elysée, dressed in Italian flags, is preceded by dozens of cuirassiers. “We know – says the French leader – to welcome a friend and an eminent personality for whom France has esteem, affection and admiration”. Mattarella reciprocates by choosing France for his first trip abroad after the pandemic and delivering his speech on the ties between the two countries at the Sorbonne, where Macron had illustrated his manifesto four years ago to refound Europe. The Italian president also takes up the concept of “European sovereignty” repeatedly expressed by Macron.
“The EU changes on immigration”, in Paris the Mattarella Macron pact for a new Europe
by Anais Ginori, Old Concept
The two heads of state have learned to know and appreciate each other, without hiding any points of friction but trying to resolve them together, as during Mattarella’s visit to Amboise in May 2019 to honor the anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death. An opportunity served to mend after the diplomatic crisis but during which the Italian president had also renewed the solicitation to Macron to “find an agreement on a delicate issue such as that of extradition” of former terrorists refugees in France. A message that certainly weighed in the solution found last April, with the political go-ahead from the Elysée to nine extraditions, now being examined by the French judiciary.
Draghi expected in France for the first time as prime minister
by our correspondent Anais Ginori
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