The arrival of thousands of migrants on the Italian island of Lampedusa in the space of a few days has sparked many reactions. After the French right and extreme right, who stepped up to advocate the closure of borders, Emmanuel Macron in turn spoke out. This Friday, September 15, the president reminded supporters of zero immigration of the “duty of European solidarity.” A response to Germany closing its doors and the national criticism it receives.
“I consider that it is the responsibility of the entire European Union to stand alongside Italy,” declared the Head of State, while Germany announced on Wednesday September 13 that it would refuse now any asylum seeker from Italy. And also to specify that “work is being done between the two governments (French and Italian, Editor’s note) and decisions will be taken on this basis.”
Responding to the far right who urged him not to welcome any refugees from Lampedusa, he considered that this new migratory crisis showed “that strictly nationalist approaches have their limits”.
On the sidelines of a trip to the Côte d’Or department, he also promised that France would act “with rigor and humanity” with regard to these thousands of people from North Africa, among whom are “children” and “people who are very fragile”, he further noted. “We can prevent these migrations but we must first take care of them,” recalled the Head of State.
In addition to Italy, the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, is also due to meet with his German counterpart on Friday. He has planned a first meeting in the afternoon, then a second on Saturday, after which he should speak.
But for the National Rally, there is only one possible response to this crisis: “Emmanuel Macron must solemnly make this commitment: France will not welcome a single migrant” coming from Lampedusa, his president said on Friday morning. president, Jordan Bardella, on X (formerly Twitter).
Criticizing a “concerted operation” of smugglers, the party representative hoped that the European elections of June 9, 2024 would “send a clear message: “no way” (impossible, Editor’s note)” to immigration candidates.
Seizing the opportunity to launch her campaign, the far-right candidate competing with the RN, Marion Maréchal, went without delay to Lampedusa to denounce “chaos” and “overwhelm” against a backdrop of images of refugees sitting on the ground, en masse, at the Italian port.
She assured that she had come to “provide support to the Italian people (and) to the Italian government which is abandoned by the European Union, also abandoned by France and which finds itself alone in managing this situation, even though the Italian borders are not are not only the borders of Italy, they are the borders of the whole of Europe”.
A move denounced as “a scavenging way” of doing politics by the Minister of Energy Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, on CNews.
The head of the Republicans, Éric Ciotti, for his part asked the government to “commit unprecedented civil and military means to protect our land and maritime borders”. He called for “a comprehensive European initiative to return migrants who arrived in Lampedusa in recent days to their country of origin.”
But with the far right, he is not the only one to call on the government and the head of state to take action. It is “during debates like this that we must show that we are actively European,” said Raphaël Glucksmann, candidate for the European elections and likely head of the PS list.
According to him, France is not defending today at the European Council a “European solution” with “solidarity mechanisms” between States that are more effective than those currently in force.
“There must be a distribution on a European scale, France must take its share,” said Manuel Bompard, the political coordinator of La France insoumise, denouncing Germany’s position.
Immigration is one of the themes dominating the political season. The government will defend, from November in Parliament, a bill which seeks to reconcile firmness against illegal immigration and integration.
