Italian interior minister Matteo Salvini called out the hypocrisy of French President Emmanuel Macron Wednesday after Macron bashed “nationalism” at the United Nations.
In his address Tuesday at the U.N. General Assembly, Mr. Macron denounced the “fallacious statements made by some in Europe and elsewhere that we would be stronger were we to close our borders” and insisted on “unconditional protection of those with the right to asylum.”
In a tweet Wednesday, Salvini noted that France had sealed its southern borders with Italy to prevent migrants from moving north out of Italy and had “rejected more than 50,000 migrants, mostly women and children.”
“We don’t take lessons in law or humanity from Mr. Macron,” he said.
In Tuesday’s address, Macron took up the mantle of globalism, countering the anti-globalist message of President Donald Trump as well as the European leaders like Salvini that stress national sovereignty over collective governance.
“Only collective action allows for the upholding of the sovereignty and equality of the people in whose name we take action,” Macron said. “This is the reason we must take action against climate, demographic and digital challenges. No one alone can tackle these.”
“Nationalism always leads to defeat,” Macron said. “If courage is lacking in the defense of fundamental principles, international order becomes fragile and this can lead as we have already seen twice, to global war. We saw that with our very own eyes.”
Macron went on to insist on the importance of multilaterism, rejecting the bilateral treaties and trade deals preferred by Mr. Trump.
“Do not accept the erosion of multilateralism,” Macron said. “Don’t accept our history unraveling, I’m not getting used to it and I’m not turning my head.”
The latest spat between Macron and Salvini is part of an ongoing debate addressing immigration and the importance of national sovereignty.
In late August, Mr. Salvini called Macron a “hypocrite” for turning away migrants while lecturing other nations about open borders.
“We do not take lessons from a hypocrite,” Salvini said in response a statement by Macron decrying nationalists who “preach hate.”
At that time, Mr. Salvini also met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the two leaders vowed to demolish the current European Union (EU) globalist structure and replace it with a model that respects the national sovereignty of EU countries.
“In Europe, Macron is at the head of the parties that support immigration, on the other side are we ourselves, but we want to stop illegal immigration,” Mr. Orbán declared.
Salvini also called out Macron for pushing others to take in more migrants while refusing to do so himself.
“Instead of giving lessons to others, I would invite the hypocritical French president to reopen the borders and welcome the thousands of migrants he had promised to take,” Salvini said. “Italy is no longer the refugee camp of Europe; the haven for traffickers and naifs is finished!”
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