In the midst of a fiery dispute between France and Italy about whose nation is responsible for the migrants, a rescue ship carrying 230 refugees stopped at the French port of Toulon on Friday.
The migrants were found at sea off the coast of Libya by the Ocean Viking, a French NGO, who then spent weeks looking for a port to take them.
A rescue ship bringing refugees from the Mediterranean had never before been permitted to land on French soil, but Italy had refused access this time.
According to EU regulations, the migrants were Italy’s duty, and the French action was a “extraordinary” one, according to French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin on Thursday.
According to him, there would be “serious implications” for Italy’s bilateral ties with France and with the rest of the European Union as a result of its reluctance to take the refugees.
He claimed that although Italy had “lacked humanity,” France had behaved in accordance with its “humanitarian obligation.”
The French government’s “aggressive reaction” was denounced by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Friday, who told reporters that France’s criticism was “incomprehensible and unfair.”
Because Italy’s shore is the closest to where the migrants were caught up, the Ocean Viking ship first requested entry there, claiming that the hygienic and health conditions onboard were fast deteriorating.
Italy rejected, claiming that other countries should bear more of the expense for housing the tens of thousands of migrants who attempt to cross from North Africa to Europe each year.
In order to determine which migrants should be taken ashore first and treated for their most serious conditions, a French doctor boarded the ship before it anchored.
According to Laurence Bondard of the SOS Mediterranee NGO, which is in charge of organizing Operation Viking, “Emotion is running high on the ship.”
Everyone is exhausted beyond belief, but they are also delighted to be on shore since it means the experience is over.
In order to wait for the processing of asylum petitions, the refugees, more than 50 of whom are youngsters, were brought to an international waiting area.
The government announced that until the procedure was finished, which should take around three weeks, they would not be permitted to leave the zone. Interviews for asylum were set to begin on Saturday.
The bunker, which was close to the port, was well-guarded, according to an AFP photographer.
For the arrival of the ship, 600 police were stationed, and the Red Cross was in charge of providing humanitarian supplies.
Meloni, the leader of Italy’s most right-wing administration in decades, has shown signs of being prepared to elevate the conflict to the top of the European agenda.
The request was for “234 migrants,” according to Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, “when Italy has taken in 90,000 just this year.”
According to Darmanin, who spoke on Thursday, nine European countries have agreed to take in two-thirds of the refugees, with France taking in the final third.
In the interest of “European solidarity,” he claimed, Germany will absorb “more than 80,” along with contributions from Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal, Luxembourg, and Ireland.
France has halted a plan to receive 3,500 migrants who are already in Italy as part of a European burden-sharing agreement in retribution for Italy’s attitude and has asked Germany and other EU countries to follow suit.
increased border controls
On Friday, French police announced that they had also tightened security at many Italian border crossings.
The escalation of hostilities is reminiscent of the migrant conflicts in Europe four years ago, when populist interior minister Matteo Salvini of Italy and French President Emmanuel Macron in particular sparred.
France had stressed that Rome had to accept the Ocean Viking in accordance with international maritime law.
However, Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani claimed last week that he was informing other EU countries that they needed to take a more active role.
Ahead of a meeting of EU ministers the following week, Tajani stated that Rome wanted “an agreement to determine, on the basis of population, how refugees with a claim to asylum are moved to other countries.”
A dozen or so EU nations, including France, decided to accept migrants who arrive in Italy and other major entrance sites in June.
164 asylum seekers have already been transferred from Italy to other EU countries that agreed to take them this year.
