France to open Libyan centres to vet refugees

FRANCE will vet asylum seekers in Libya before they embark on the perilous Mediterranean crossing to Europe, Emmanuel Macron, the president, said yesterday, only for his own officials to dismiss the plan as impractical.

Mr Macron said France would open centres in Libya before the end of the summer to process asylum applications. “The idea is to create hotspots to avoid people taking crazy risks when they’re not all eligible for asylum. We’ll go to them,” he said during a visit to a refugee shelter in Orléans.

He said the centres would help stem the massive influx of migrants into Italy and elsewhere in Europe. However, his own officials immediately cast doubt on whether the plan could be implemented, pointing out that security was not yet good enough in Libya.

Mr Macron’s announcement came two days after he brokered talks in Paris between the leaders of Libya’s two main factions, who agreed to a conditional ceasefire and elections.

Diplomats were sceptical about the deal’s chances of holding. Angelino Alfano, the Italian foreign minister, said mediation efforts should be “united” within the framework of the UN.

More than 100,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean since January, with more than 2,300 drowning.