France has refused to accept migrants from the overcrowded refugee camp on Lampedusa. Meanwhile, Tunisia announced that it had intercepted 2,500 more migrants in the past few days.
France’s Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin has refused to accept migrants who have arrived on the Italian Mediterranean island of Lampedusa. “France will not accept migrants from Lampedusa,” Darmanin said in the evening on the TF1 channel.
France wants a position of strictness. There is irregular migration in France and Italy, as in all of Europe, which must be combated, said Darmanin. “And it is not the case that by accepting more people we can dry up the flow that affects our integration capacity.”
France offers help with returns
According to Darmanin, France has offered to help Italy repatriate people to countries with which Paris has good diplomatic relations. The interior minister said 60 percent of the people who arrived in Lampedusa were French-speaking.
Last week several thousand boat migrants reached Lampedusa. More than 5,000 people arrived on the island between Sicily and North Africa on Tuesday last week alone – more than ever before on a single day. The initial reception center was extremely overcrowded at times. To relieve the pressure on the camp, thousands of people were taken on ferries and police ships to Sicily or directly to the Italian mainland.
During a visit to Lampedusa with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called for joint action by the 27 EU states as well as migration agreements with the North African states in order to be able to control the situation.
Tunisia: Recently intercepted around 2,500 migrants
The Tunisian coast guard said it had intercepted more than 2,500 migrants and arrested dozens of people smugglers in recent days. The National Guard also said dozens of boats had also been confiscated. In addition, around 1,900 African migrants from sub-Saharan countries were prevented from entering Tunisia via the land border.
There was a large-scale raid in the coastal region near Sfax at the weekend. According to the information, hundreds of security forces with the support of anti-terror units, aircraft and police dogs were deployed.