New Franco-Italian diplomatic crisis around immigration?
The Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, "
is unable to solve the migratory problems
" of Italy, which is experiencing record arrivals by the Mediterranean, said Thursday, May 4 the French Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin.
"
Madame Meloni, a far-right government chosen by the friends of Mrs. (Marine) Le Pen, is incapable of settling the migratory problems on which she was elected
", declared the minister, questioned on the French radio RMC concerning remarks of the president of the far-right National Rally (RN) party Jordan Bardella regarding the migratory situation at the Franco-Italian border.
Meloni, it's like (...) Le Pen, she got elected on "you'll see what you'll see".
Gérald Darmanin, Minister of the Interior
"
Yes, there is an influx of migrants and especially minors
" in the south of France, acknowledged Gérald Darmanin, who blames the Italian neighbor for this: "
The truth is that there is in Tunisia (...) a political situation which means that many children in particular go back up via Italy and that Italy is incapable (...) of managing this migratory pressure
”.
"
Meloni, it's like (the leader of the extreme right in France Marine) Le Pen, she gets elected on 'you're going to see what you're going to see' and then what we see is that it (immigration) does not stop and it is growing
, ”continued Gérald Darmanin about the head of the Italian government,
".
These remarks come as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Catherine Colonna, is due to meet Thursday evening in Paris with her Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani.
"
The French government wishes to work with Italy to face the common challenge represented by the rapid increase in migratory flows
", indicated the Quai d'Orsay in the wake of Gérald Darmanin's remarks.
The French Foreign Ministry also stressed that the bilateral relationship was "
based on mutual respect, between our two countries and between their leaders
".
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he was canceling his visit to Paris on Thursday after the
French minister's "
unacceptable " remarks.
“
I will not go to Paris for the meeting scheduled with
” French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, Antonio Tajani announced on Twitter.
“
The offenses against the government and Italy launched by Mr. Darmanin are unacceptable.
This is not the spirit with which we must face the common European challenges
”.
A hot topic
A quick update on this burning subject, the most delicate of Franco-Italian relations for years.
In November, the two countries experienced a strong outbreak of fever when the government of Giorgia Meloni, who had just come to power, refused to allow the humanitarian ship of the NGO SOS Méditerranée to dock, which ended up being welcomed for the first times by France, in Toulon.
The episode had angered Paris, which had called a European meeting so that this unprecedented scenario did not happen again.
Since then, clandestine crossings by boat have increased, with the development of a new maritime corridor between Tunisia and Italy, in the front line at the gates of Europe.
According to the Italian Interior Ministry, more than 36,000 people have arrived via the Mediterranean in Italy this year, compared to around 9,000 during the same period in 2022.
“Increased migration pressure”
In this context, Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne announced at the end of April the mobilization of 150 “
additional
” police officers and gendarmes in the Alpes-Maritimes department to deal
with “increased migratory pressure at the Italian border
”, as well as the creation of a "
border force
", a force at the borders.
“
In Australia, it works very well
”, defended Thursday Gérald Darmanin: “
At the border, we challenge people and we make them pass identity checks
”.
On the Franco-Italian border, the State must “
accompany
” and “
work with Mr. (Éric) Ciotti
”, the president of the right-wing Les Républicains party and deputy for the Alpes-Maritimes who recently called on the government to mobilize “
massive means to stop the ongoing migratory flooding at the border
".
Upstream, in the Mediterranean, the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM) assured in April, the first quarter of 2023 was the deadliest for migrants since 2017.
