Paris has taken the extraordinary step of recalling its ambassador from Rome, in the worst crisis between the two neighbouring countries since the second world war.

According to The Guardian, France blamed what it called baseless verbal attacks from Italy’s political leaders, which it said were “without precedent since world war two”.

Italy’s two deputy prime ministers, the far-right Matteo Salvini and Luigi Di Maio of the populist, anti-establishment Five Star Movement, have in recent months criticised the French president, Emmanuel Macron, on a host of inflammatory issues, from immigration to the gilets jaunes (yellow vest) anti-government demonstrations.

Di Maio this week met leaders of the gilets jaunes seeking to run in May’s European parliament elections as he declared the “wind of change has crossed the Alps” and a “new Europe is being born of the yellow vests”. France said the comments were an unacceptable “provocation”, BBC reports.

The French have had enough of months of provocative words and acts emanating from Italy's two populist leaders. Even Italian diplomats are "completely disoriented by this quarrel and just as surprised" by the positions taken by Italy's ministers, according to Corriere della Sera columnist Massimo Franco.

For France, the reason behind the spat is as clear as a bell. Matteo Salvini of the League and Five Star's Luigi Di Maio are simply electioneering ahead of the European Parliament elections in May.

What has that got to do with France? Neither leader likes the pro-European Emmanuel Macron.

For Mr Di Maio, the yellow vests challenging the French establishment are natural bedfellows, while the right-wing interior minister Mr Salvini finds common cause with President Macron's far-right rival Marine Le Pen.

There may be votes in it, but there are big diplomatic risks too. Two countries have disagreed on the migrant issue and then Italy's support to 'Yellow Vest' led diplomatic catastrophe.