Italy declares support for Yellow Vests, sparking row between Salvini and Macron

Jan 9, 2019 By Christine Douglass-Williams

Some media coverage continues to underplay the Yellow Vest protests, which quickly evolved beyond economics.

The row over the yellow vests has exacerbated the bad blood between the French and Italian governments, with the coalition in Rome repeatedly accusing Mr Macron of failing to shoulder responsibility for the migrant crisis and of ordering asylum seekers to be rounded up in France and pushed back to Italy.

The controversy between Italy and France demonstrates that the Yellow Vest revolt is not limited to French protests over lower fuel taxes, higher tax on the wealthy, and demands for minimum wage hikes. The Yellow Vests are now being dubbed part of a “worldwide pattern of populist revolt.”

For some time, the so-called “populist” movement has been the voice of advocacy for the rule of law and the freedom of speech. It is opposed to open-door immigration and the welcome of economic migrants, to say nothing of jihadist migrants.

Along with the obvious upheavals, an inevitable result of the implementation of the globalist utopian vision is the ever-present threat of jihad terror. Following the Strasbourg Christmas market attack in Paris, Yellow Vests began planning protests in Paris and in other locations in France.

Matteo Salvini has now stoked the Yellow Vest movement in his declaration: “I support honest citizens who protest against a president who governs against his own people.” Salvini is describing not just Macron, but globalist leaders everywhere. The Yellow Vests are a movement of defense.

Macron’s rebuttal was to reference the “populist movement” as the rise of “leprosy.”

“Keep out of yellow vest revolt, France warns Italy, after populist ministers offer support to movement”, The Telegraph, January 8, 2019:

France has accused Italy of interfering in its affairs after the populist government in Rome, which rode to power last year on a wave of anti-establishment sentiment, offered to help the “yellow vest” movement.

Matteo Salvini and Luigi Di Maio, who are both deputy prime ministers, gave enthusiastic encouragement to the gilets jaunes, whose protests have turned increasingly violent in Paris and other cities.

While condemning violent acts, Mr Salvini, who is also interior minister, said he supported “honest citizens who protest against a president who governs against his people.”

Mr Di Maio, who is the head of the Five Star Movement, offered the protesters the use of his party’s Rousseau system, an internet platform that allows supporters to vote for candidates and propose legislation, eyeing the prospect of the gilets jaunes becoming a nascent political party.

That earned him a sharp rebuke from Nathalie Loiseau, France’s minister for European affairs, who tweeted: “France refrains from giving lessons to Italy. Monsieurs Salvini and Di Maio should first put their own house in order.”

Speaking in Brussels on Tuesday, she added: “The priority for the Italian government is to look after the well-being of the Italian people. I’m not sure what being interested in the yellow vests has to do with the well-being of the Italians.”

The row intensified when Mr Di Maio accused the French of hypocrisy by calling for Italy to butt out of their business.

“Maybe (Ms Loiseau) forgets that her president compared us to leprosy when talking about our government,” he said.

In June, Emmanuel Macron compared Eurosceptic, populist movements to a disease that needed to be resisted by moderates.

“You can see them rise a bit like leprosy all across Europe, in countries where we thought that it would be impossible to see them again,” he said….

 https://www.jihadwatch.org/2019/01/italy-declares-support-for-yellow-vests-sparking-row-between-salvini-and-macron