French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced Monday (June 19th) in Tunis, Tunisia, the granting by France of nearly 26 million euros to Tunisia to help it fight against irregular immigration .
This “bilateral aid of 25.8 million [devoted] to migration issues” will enable Tunisia to “acquire necessary equipment and [to] organize useful training, in particular for Tunisian police and border guards”. It will be added to an envelope of 105 million euros announced a week ago by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to support Tunisia in the fight “against irregular immigration”.
The French donation should be used “to contain the irregular flow of migrants and to promote their return in good conditions”, said Mr. Darmanin. After having met, with his German counterpart, Nancy Faeser, President Kaïs Saïed, he took up a formula used recently by the latter, according to which “Tunisia is not the border guard of Europe”.
“It is not Tunisia’s vocation to be Europe’s border guard,” he added, considering that it was up to the countries of origin of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa transiting through Tunisia. Tunisia “to ensure that there are a minimum of departures”.
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Many migrants from sub-Saharan Africa arrive in Tunisia and then attempt to illegally immigrate by sea to Europe, with some stretches of the Tunisian coastline being less than 150 kilometers from the Italian island of Lampedusa.
“Tunisia is the first victim of this irregular immigration and we want to assure it of all our solidarity,” said the French minister. He defended “a European approach to the migration challenge as well as with the countries of Africa”, in order “to fight against the networks of smugglers” and to “accompany the return and resettlement [of migrants] in their countries of origin. ‘origin “.
Referring to the recent sinking of a migrant boat in Greece, he judged that “too many people take reckless risks, often exploited by smugglers who are real criminals whom [they] have to fight”. Ms. Faeser, for her part, considered it essential to “put an end to these terrible deaths at sea”.