France has summoned Italy’s ambassador to Paris after deputy prime minister Luigi di Maio accused the French of “impoverishing” West Africa by keeping it in a colonialist embrace.

But far from ending the spat, Italy's other deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini added fuel to the fire by claiming France had deliberately let the security crisis fester in Libya for national gain.

In the latest acrimonious flare-up between the two neighours, Mr Di Maio pointed the finger at the CFA, the West African franc, which several countries still use and which he dubbed "the franc of the colonies".

As a result of being downtrodden, Africans are trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe, and dying in the attempt, said the head of the populist Five Star movement.

“If today we have people who are leaving Africa, it’s because certain European countries, France in particular, have never stopped colonising Africa,” he claimed. Speaking on Italian radio Monday morning, he said: "France is one of those countries that by printing money for 14 states prevents development and contributes to the departure of refugees."