Macron Inked Enhanced French-Italian Pact in Rome
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Years after an intense diplomatic crisis, a new French-Italian pact is inked to deepen economic and defense cooperation.
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France’s President Emmanuel Macron left, and Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi sign the Franco-Italian Quirinal Treaty.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi signed, on Friday, the Quirinale Treaty on enhanced cooperation between Rome and Paris.
A live broadcast of the signing ceremony that took place at the Quirinal Palace in Rome was aired by Italian media.
Macron traveled to Rome on Thursday for a two-day visit that culminated in the signing of the French-Italian cooperation pact.
"This trip will be devoted to the French-Italian relationship and the purpose of signing the Quirinale treaty," the French presidency said in a statement.
France and Italy began drafting the cooperation treaty in 2017 to give their relationship more structure and to align their positions on foreign policy, economy, security, migration, and other issues. It comes more than 60 years after France and Germany signed a similar agreement.
The diplomatic storm
The diplomatic crisis between the two countries reached its climax in early 2019 when the leader of Italy's "5 Star Movement," Luigi Di Maio, traveled to Paris to meet members of the "yellow vests" protest movement, which opposes Macron’s social policy.
At the time, Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said he hoped the French people would oust Emmanuel Macron as their president.
Simultaneously, France recalled its ambassador in what was the first withdrawal of a French envoy to Rome since World War Two.
