French minister dismisses Italian insult as ‘insignificant’

PARIS – France’s European affairs minister has dismissed insulting remarks about the French president made by the Italian interior minister, saying that they were insignificant and won’t trigger a “competition of the stupidest.”

Nathalie Loisseau said on Wednesday in response to a question after the weekly Cabinet meeting that Matteo Salvini’s jabs at France are “useless” because they don’t serve Italians and won’t change French policy.

Salvini, head of the right-wing League governing Italy in a coalition, said on Tuesday that France’s Emmanuel Macron is a “terrible president,” mainly because he stops refugees from crossing into French territory.

She added: “In France, we have an expression that says whatever is excessive is insignificant. When remarks are excessive … they are, therefore, insignificant.”

She said she wouldn’t be visiting Italy until “the climate calms.”