report
By mid-October, around 35,000 people were arrested on France’s border with Italy for attempting to enter France irregularly. A report from the border about the migrants and their helpers.
The final stop for seven boys this morning is Menton-Garavan train station. They had tried to cross the border from Ventimiglia on the first train of the day – and were caught by the French border police, who check every train from Italy.
Officials on site are not allowed to answer questions. However, representatives of the border police have spoken out in the French media – Philippe Vicente, for example. Only a few migrants have identification documents with them. Sometimes it is also an expired residence permit from Italy, said Vicente on the France Bleu radio station. But they did not meet the requirements to enter France.
“If we pick up these people at one of the official border crossings – for example the train station – then we take them to the border police station, where they are then officially refused entry. They are then sent back to Italy,” said Vicente.
Four attempts to escape, four failed
But that doesn’t stop many from trying again and again – like Zinou, for example. The young Algerian has pulled the blue hoodie over his head to protect himself from the rain. We meet in Ventimiglia on the other side of the border. “I’ve tried it four times – by train or through the mountains,” says Zinou. “It never worked – but I’ll try it again.”
If you want to avoid the strict train controls, you can take the route through the rugged Roya Valley, for example. In the mountains, almost 50 kilometers north of Menton, lies the village of Saorge with 450 souls. Gibi and the Roya Citoyenne organization are waiting here. Gibi is a friendly old gentleman, his long gray hair tied back in a ponytail. He doesn’t officially give his real name.
Roya Citoyenne never directly helps people cross the border, emphasizes Gibi – that is forbidden. But: “When these people come to us, the first thing we tell them is that they should write down their wish to apply for asylum – and we then give that to the gendarmerie.” The people would then be taken to the border police in Menton, who would then arrange an appointment for them with the authorities in Nice, where they could submit the application.
“It’s the authorities who don’t follow the law”
People are often sent back without even having the opportunity to apply for asylum, says Gibi. The organization’s work is not illegal – contrary to what some accuse them of.
“It’s the authorities who don’t follow the law! With what we do as an organization, we’re just trying to apply the existing law,” said Gibi. “These rules aren’t so bad – if they were applied and we took care of welcoming people instead of sending them straight back.”
Authorities are not allowed to send back directly
According to the so-called EU “Return Directive” from 2008, people have between seven and 30 days to leave the country even after entering the country illegally. This means that the authorities are not allowed to send them back directly at the border.
When asked, the prefecture writes: “The border police are not pushing back migrants. Rather, these are refusals of entry for people who come to France irregularly and are picked up at the French-Italian border.”
However, the European Court of Justice said in a ruling at the end of September that the French practice violates the Return Directive because people cannot be systematically sent back directly at the border. However, it is still unclear to what extent this decision will specifically affect the work of the French border authorities.
This doesn’t help the boys who were caught on the train in Menton. For most of them, the desire to come to France ends that morning at the border police office.