A video of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni allegedly rolling her eyes at French President Emmanuel Macron at the G7 summit in Italy has taken social media by storm.
From June 13-15, G7 leaders gathered in Italy and their talks mainly centered around the Ukraine conflict.
However, disagreements soon emerged over abortion rights language in the final G7 communique.
Hours ago that handshake, Meloni and Macron clashed over the language regarding abortion rights.
The G7 leaders’ final communique did not directly reference abortion as Italy refused to yield to French pressure to include the term.
A video of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni allegedly rolling her eyes at French President Emmanuel Macron at the G7 summit in Italy has taken social media by storm.
From June 13-15, G7 leaders gathered in Italy and their talks mainly centered around the Ukraine conflict. However, there were other areas of discussions as well that featured in the meet, including social rights, health and artificial intelligence.
However, disagreements soon emerged over abortion rights language in the final G7 communique.
US, France, Japan and Germany had pushed to include "safe and legal abortions" in the summit’s text. However, Italy resisted over the language, according to reports.
The viral video allegedly showed Meloni and Macron in an awkward interaction. In the viral clip, Meloni is purportedly seen rolling her eyes and offering a less-than-enthusiastic handshake to Macron which clearly suggested the underlying tensions between the two leaders. #WATCH | Italy's prime minister Giorgia Meloni ackwardly handshakes french president Emmanuel Macron: pic.twitter.com/QuOnDzRhBw — VOZ (@Voz_US) June 14, 2024 × The incident occurred at the summit, where both leaders were present to discuss pressing global issues. Hours ago that handshake, Meloni and Macron clashed over the language regarding abortion rights.
The G7 leaders’ final communique did not directly reference abortion as Italy refused to yield to French pressure to include the term.
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The draft communique also drew criticism for allegedly weakening support for LGBTQ rights. Meloni accused Macron of attempting to gain political advantage ahead of the French national elections.
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Last year’s Hiroshima statement by G7 leaders committed "to universal access to adequate, affordable, and quality health services for women."
However, this time the draft communique removed the abortion reference.
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Is Meloni 'emboldened' by EU results?
Giorgia Meloni’s political position has been bolstered by her Brothers of Italy party securing nearly 30 percent of the vote in the EU elections. “It looks like Meloni has been emboldened by the results [of the EU elections] to push an even more conservative agenda,” one G7 diplomat told a European news outlet on condition of anonymity.
(With inputs from agencies)
