migration
Southern France: Police want to track down migrants with drones
According to the police prefecture in Nice, 12,607 migrants have already been stopped at the Italian-French border in the south since the beginning of the year (symbolic image). photo
© Daniel Cole/AP/dpa
France strengthens border controls with Italy with drones. The number of migrants entering the country from there has risen sharply.
The French police have recently been using drones on the border with Italy to track down migrants, who are coming into the country from there in rapidly increasing numbers.
The Nice-Matin newspaper reported that the police prefecture in Nice initially allowed the use of drones in certain border sections for three months. Without an overview from the air, it is practically impossible to stop the migrants in the mountainous region with countless footpaths, the prefecture justified the measure. An additional 150 police officers also arrived to patrol the border at Menton in the south.
According to the prefecture, 12,607 migrants have been stopped on the Italian-French border in the south since the beginning of the year, an increase of 40 percent compared to the same period last year. In addition to increased French controls, there are also joint operations with the Italian police. Recently, 15 people smugglers were caught in Ventimiglia, who sent migrants across the border in trains, some of them putting their lives in danger on the roofs of the wagons, as the newspaper “Le Figaro” reported.
The right-wing camp in France accuses the government of failure in refugee policy, and the mobilization of the police at the border can also be seen in this context. In the case of verbal attacks on the right, government representatives also attacked what they saw as the unsuccessful migration policy of the right-wing Italian government, thereby fueling the dispute between the two countries over migration.