Luigi Di Maio, the Italian deputy prime minister and leader of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S), has met a senior figure from the gilets jaunes (yellow vests) movement – a meeting likely to increase tensions between Italy and France. Posting a photograph of the group on Facebook, Mr Di Maio described it as a “beautiful” meeting. Mr Di Maio had previously expressed his admiration for the gilets jaunes, who have been holding at-times violent anti-government protests each week across France for the past few months. Italian media reported that Ingrid Levavasseur, who heads the gilets jaunes’ list of 10 candidates for the elections, will meet M5S officials again in Rome next week. At the time, Mr Di Maio said he was preparing an election manifesto with other European populist groups.

Source: The Irish Times February 06, 2019 14:26 UTC