Resufaced Video Shows Giorgia Meloni Taking a Blowtorch to Emmanuel Macron, France

The video isn't new, but has just started popping up on the internet again now.

She may have done her best work in a recently unearthed, viral clip -- thought to be from 2019 -- where she absolutely eviscerated France's Emmanuel Marcon, who's previously taken jabs at Meloni. Watch the whole thing because it's an absolute pleasure all the way around. She’s good at this. Really, really good at this.

In the video, she attacks Macron (and France) for demanding that Europe accept wave after wave of African immigrants (with Italy and Greece accepting the bulk of the new arrivals), while France extracts wealth from fourteen former (?) colonies in Africa via seigniorage, the production of money itself. France produces something called the CFA Euro for 14 African countries, and takes a vigorish for its service.

She claims this results in 50% of the mineral wealth of Africa winding up in France, which sounds... well, it sounds a little exaggerated to me. (Update: A commenter points out she's making this specific claim for Burkina Faso only, not the other 13 African countries.)

I mean, I hear the same kind of thing claimed about "greedy corporations of the West" stealing poor countries' oil, and it turns out... they mean the countries have contracted with Western corporations to pump that oil, and of course that isn't free. The corporations take their share.

But I don't know. Sometimes there is some corruption there, as the government of the country making the deal makes a deal that benefits the royal family and its cronies, but almost no one else.

Anyway.

Her point is that Europe wouldn't need to take immigrants from Africa if Europe wasn't taking wealth from Africa.

Below, the clip with an English translation, and then with Italian subtitles.

posted by Ace at 02:24 PM

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