FWIW 9442CS13 would be a French plate, not an Italian one. Registered in Bouches-du-Rhône - the département which includes Marseille. Italian plates of that period either start or finish with two letters, except for ones issued in Rome, which say 'ROMA'.
That also means that the car's registered owner must have lived in Bouches-du-Rhône, as if you moved you had to re-register the car in your new département. Same applied if you bought a car from someone living in another département.
Possibly a hire car? OTOH if Mike had bought the car in France and driven it to Italy would the Carabinieri be clued up enough to know about French number plates? A way of avoiding Italian vehicle taxes? ![;)](https://bb2.autosport.com/public/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)