Macron compared us to leprosy - Di Maio

(ANSA) - Rome, January 8 - Deputy Premier and Labour and Industry Minister Luigi Di Maio hit back on Tuesday after French European Affairs Minister Nathalie Loiseau told Italian officials to butt out after expressing support for the Yellow Vests protest movement. Di Maio said Monday that his 5-Star Movement (M5S) was ready to provide support to the Yellow Vests while fellow Deputy Premier, Interior Minister and League party leader Matteo Salvini, also voiced his backing for the protests. Di Maio said Tuesday that it was rich of France to tell Italy to mind its own business. "Maybe (Loiseau) is forgetting that her president, (Emmanuel) Macron), compared us to leprosy when talking about our government," Di Maio said on Facebook.