Border controls between France and Italy have become tighter after a diplomatic spat over the distribution of migrants arriving from Africa. On Sunday November 13th, long lines formed at northern Italy’s border crossings with France. Dozens of migrants slept on mattresses under a highway overpass, a number that could increase as French authorities crack down on the crossings.
According to Euronews, France announced that it would send 500 extra agents to reinforce its borders with Italy in retaliation for Italy’s delays in helping humanitarian ships rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean.
Police patrolled trains and roads along the border stopping migrants. Along the winding coastal road connecting the two countries, traffic flowed from France to Italy but hardly in the other direction. According to the Associated Press, French border police stopped almost every car forcing drivers to open their trunks.
Italy is not keeping a commitment that is fundamental to the European solidarity mechanism.
Olivier Veran, French government spokesperson
The tension in the diplomatic relations between the two countries arose when Italy allowed three aid groups to disembark their passengers at Italian ports because doctors determined all were vulnerable but denied entry to a fourth. The Ocean Viking, a private rescue vessel that had been at sea for nearly three weeks, eventually docked in Toulon, France, after Paris reluctantly welcomed it.
Italy’s new far-right government, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, has vowed that Italy will cease to be the main port of entry for migrants departing on smugglers’ boats from Libya, and is demanding that Europe take more responsibility and regulate aid groups operating rescue ships in the Mediterranean.
France sharply criticized Italy’s handling of the Ocean Viking. Right-wing League party, Matteo Salvini, posted triumphant messages on social media. In retaliation, France has announced it would withdraw from a European Union “solidarity” mechanism approved in June to relocate 3,000 migrants from Italy.
According to the Associated Press, Italy gas called France’s response “disproportionate” and “aggressive,” and won the support of other Mediterranean countries on the front lines of the migration problem, such as Greece, Malta and Cyprus. The four countries drafted a joint statement on Saturday calling for a new mandatory solidarity mechanism to welcome migrants.
