Italy's Meloni accuses Emmanuel Macron of electioneering at G7 summit

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has accused French President Emmanuel Macron of electioneering at the G7 summit in southern Italy, weeks before a snap vote in France that he called in a bid to stave off the rise of the far right.

“I believe it is profoundly wrong, in difficult times like these, to campaign using a precious forum like the G7,” Meloni said as opinion polls show that Macron’s centrist alliance faces a potential wipeout as it could be squeezed out of the second round of the vote by the far-right party of Marine Le Pen and a leftist bloc.

The French president has shocked allies with his decision to dissolve the national assembly and hold snap elections, triggering a sell-off of French bonds and stocks.

One European diplomat present at the summit said Macron seemed “a bit lost”, adding that Meloni’s barbs at him underscored the sense that his domestic woes had left him seemingly adrift. “It’s a pity,” they added.

But a person involved in the summit discussions said they believed other leaders would not see the G7 as “an appropriate place” to raise their concerns with Macron’s move, given their own domestic problems.

“If you look around the table and at elections coming . . . a huge majority have issues at home so they are respectful,” the person said. “I think they’ll abstain from commenting.”