The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, announced Tuesday during a visit to Menton (Alpes-Maritimes) reinforcements in the fight against illegal immigration at the border with Italy, where pressure is increasing.
At the end of April, Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne announced the sending of 150 additional gendarmes and police officers, while the number of migrants arriving on Italian coasts has doubled this year compared to the same period in 2022 and many seek to continue their journey via France.
“We have a 100% increase in flows, which affects the Alpes-Maritimes and the entire Alps,” Mr. Darmanin explained to the press after a visit to the Menton border post.
The mobile force units, police or gendarmes, will increase from two to four, to reach a total of more than 200 people. The soldiers assigned to night reconnaissance in the mountains as part of Operation Sentinel will increase from 60 to 120, and the customs staff will also be doubled, assured the minister.
At the same time, law enforcement can now use drones to monitor crossing points, and the immigration bill, which is to be debated in the Senate in the fall, plans to expand the strip of territory to within which migrants can be returned, currently set at 20 km, and to strengthen the fight against smugglers.
“A lot of technological means, better organization and in the spring, I hope, legislation which will help us to fight more,” listed Mr. Darmanin, while recognizing that many factors such as instability in the Sahel would further increase migratory pressure.
12/09/2023 20:46:02 – Menton (France) (AFP) – © 2023 AFP