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The europhile leaders of Germany and France said the Italian election 2018 "deeply shook" the European Union after the success of the eurosceptic the Lega and Five Star Movement (M5S) parties.

Talking at a joint press conference with Angela Merkel, the EU's rising star Emmanuel Macron said: "The work awaiting us is important in a European context profoundly shaken by Brexit and the Italian elections, which saw the extremes rise and allowed us to touch the consequences of a long economic crisis and the migratory challenges to which we were not able to respond."

But Lega leader Mr Salvini quickly hit back at both politicians, saying Italy did not need Germany or France to teach the country "any lessons".

Mr Salvini said: "Merkel and Macron should worry about the Germans and the French: Italians will take care of Italy. We don't need anyone to teach us any lesson."