Relationship dossier
France
Italy
Relationship assessment
A broad partnership institutionalized by the Quirinal Treaty, alongside recurring disputes over migration and politics.
France toward Italy
+35France has pursued structured cooperation with Italy through the Quirinal Treaty, signed in 2021, which provides for collaboration in areas including foreign policy, defense, migration, and culture. French policy has also at times generated tension with Italy over migration, including disputes surrounding border controls.
Italy toward France
+35Italy has pursued structured cooperation with France through the Quirinal Treaty, signed in 2021, and the two governments have used bilateral mechanisms to coordinate on shared policy areas. Italian governments have also clashed with France over migration and political disputes.
Overall relationship
+35The Quirinal Treaty and sustained cooperation across a range of policy areas give the relationship a substantial institutional foundation. Recurring disputes over migration and political disagreements temper that partnership, producing a mixed but generally cooperative bilateral structure.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
France and Italy maintain a broad partnership supported by European cooperation and the 2021 Quirinal Treaty, which formalized collaboration in areas including foreign policy, defense, migration, and culture. Their governments have also faced recurring disputes, notably over migration and political tensions. The relationship combines substantial institutional cooperation with periodic friction.
Areas of tension
- Disputes over migration policy and the management of migration at the French-Italian border.
- Recurring political disagreements and public criticism between the governments.
Key developments
France and Italy signed the Quirinal Treaty, establishing a framework for cooperation across foreign policy, defense, migration, culture, and other areas.
The Quirinal Treaty entered into force.
Major uncertainties
- The extent to which the Quirinal Treaty has produced sustained cooperation across all of its policy areas is unclear.
- The balance between recent practical cooperation and recurring disputes over migration is uncertain.