French interior minister urges Europe to be 'firm' in face of migrant arrivals

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin arrived successful Rome connected Monday evening, wherever helium delivered a connection of "firmness" successful the look of clandestine crossings of the Mediterranean, pursuing the influx of migrants to the Italian land of Lampedusa.

"At the petition of the President (Emmanuel Macron) I'm going to Rome" to connection Italy assistance successful "holding its outer border", the main gateway to Europe from North Africa, Darmanin said connected Monday.

Between Monday and Wednesday, immoderate 8,500 radical - much than the full colonisation of Lampedusa - arrived connected 199 boats, according to the UN migration agency.

This concern has enactment the island's reception capableness nether terrible strain, generated a governmental shockwave successful Italy and reopened the thorny question of European solidarity successful presumption of reception and organisation of asylum seekers, and to enactment the countries connected the beforehand enactment of these arrivals.

"There tin beryllium nary connection fixed to radical who travel to our (European) ungraded that they volition beryllium welcomed nary substance what," Gérald Darmanin stressed, however, intent connected showing "firmness".

"We indispensable use European rules", helium added: France volition beryllium capable to "welcome" radical persecuted "for governmental reasons". But successful "60%" of cases, they "come from countries similar Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Gambia", wherever "there is nary humanitarian issue".

New measures successful Italy

"We indispensable support the European Union's outer borders and, supra all, instantly look astatine asylum applications and, erstwhile they are not eligible, nonstop them backmost to their country", helium said.

This was a connection aimed astatine Italy's right-wing and far-right government, whose person Giorgia Meloni connected Sunday criticized its European partners for failing to amusement solidarity with Italy, which has taken successful astir 130,000 radical since the commencement of the year, astir treble the fig successful 2022 implicit the aforesaid period.

In Paris, it is noted that Rome has not yet requested the organisation of migrants, and Meloni is being persuaded to analyse asylum applications successful Italy portion putting unit connected the Tunisians to amended power departures.

Without waiting for a European response, the Italian authorities connected Monday approved caller measures designed to stem the travel of arrivals, notably by creating much detention centers for migrants whose asylum applications person been rejected, and expanding the maximum duration of specified confinement from 4 to eighteen months.

On Sunday, European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen presented an exigency program for Lampedusa.

This ten-point assistance plan, designed to woody with the exigency migratory flows towards Italy, provides for a amended organisation of asylum seekers betwixt European countries, arsenic good arsenic facilitating returns.

It is expected to harvester a steadfast stance against smugglers with the facilitation of ineligible introduction into Europe for asylum-seekers.

'Rehashing aged recipes'

Italy's European partners, the archetypal state to participate the EU connected this migratory route, indispensable bash their part, said the President of the European Commission connected Sunday.

"The reply indispensable beryllium recovered successful practice betwixt Europeans" and "between Europeans and Tunisia", agreed French diplomatic main Catherine Colonna astatine the United Nations connected Monday.

In a associated statement, much than 80 associations, including oversea rescue NGOs, deplored "old recipes that the European Union has been rehashing for decades, and which person each failed."

"For her part, Marine Le Pen, president of the Rassemblement National (RN) radical successful the French National Assembly, blasted the European Union connected TF1, calling for "a ineligible wall" to beryllium erected against immigration.

In France, the authorities are anticipating a monolithic influx of migrants astatine the Italian border, pursuing caller arrivals, and are looking to acceptable up a "space" with a 100 further detention places astatine the borderline constabulary office successful Menton.

The cardinal Mediterranean is the world's astir unsafe maritime migration route, with implicit 2,000 migrants killed since the opening of the year, according to the International Organization for Migration.