Italy's 5-Star tells France's Macron movement is no threat to EU

FILE PHOTO: 5-Star movement members Beppe Grillo (L), Luigi Di Maio (C) and Alessandro Di Battista attend a demonstration against the new electoral law in downtown Rome, Italy October 25, 2017. REUTERS/Tony Gentile/File Photo - RC110BF03E30

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's anti-establishment 5-Star Movement told French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday that it does not represent a threat to the European Union, and sought to shrug off the label "populist".

Leader Luigi Di Maio, whose party tops polls ahead of a national election due early next year, wrote an open letter to Macron after the French leader reportedly expressed concern about anti-system forces in Italy.