French people our friends says Di Maio

(ANSA) - Rome, January 22 - The French people are "our friends", Deputy Premier Luigi Di Maio said a day after sparking a diplomatic spat after accusing Paris of neocolonialism via the CFA franc in Africa.
    "They want to pass off the debate of these days on the CFA franc as an attack by Italy on the French people," he said.
    "The French people are our friends. In fact, the debate on the CFA franc has been going for years in France too and (its abolition) is among the claims of the Yellow Jackets".
    Di Maio attached to his Facebook post the French protest movement's 25-point manifesto.
    Di Maio said France was "impoverishing Africa" and spurring migration through the CFA franc, which is used by 14 African countries and is pegged to the euro.