FRANCE yesterday stiffened its attitude to migrants crossing the border from Italy as tensions rose between the two countries over tackling the problem.
Bernard Cazeneuve, the interior minister, announced that his country would bar entry to any migrants already registered across the border in Italy, in accordance with EU asylum rules.
“They shouldn’t come back [to France] and they must be taken in by Italy,” Mr Cazeneuve said.
His riposte came a day after Matteo Renzi, the Italian prime minister, threatened to initiate a “Plan B” for dealing with migrants that would “hurt Europe” if other countries did not help tackle the crisis.
The tough French stance came amid rising tensions in Ventimiglia, an Italian border town on the Riviera where scores of men, women and children have been camped out since last week, some even waging a hunger strike to be allowed to cross into France.
French authorities reportedly stepped up border controls to reduce tensions in Paris and Calais, where police have dismantled several rogue migrant camps in recent days.
Video emerged from Calais yesterday of hundreds of migrants storming lorries bound for Britain. The chaotic scene posted online showed migrants brazenly trying to stow away inside a lorry while shocked tourists looked on.
A guide on the coach from where the minute-long film was shot could be heard telling passengers: “Don’t panic guys, we’ve locked all the doors.”
When another asked: “Don’t they police this stuff?” the guide responded: “They are not allowed into the country.”
It is thought the film was shot last Sunday, when the discovery of several unexploded Second World War bombs at a building site led to tailbacks.
Mr Cazeneuve said his country would “obey the rules of Schengen and Dublin”, referring to the EU treaties governing borders and asylum seekers.
“When migrants arrive in France that have been through Italy and registered there, the European law applies and that means they must be returned to Italy,” he said.
Under the EU’s Dublin Convention, all asylum seekers must register claims in whichever nation they first arrive, a policy that is supposed to be enforced by police taking their fingerprints. According to the UN, more than 100,000 migrants have arrived on Europe’s shores, roughly half in Greece and half in Italy, since the start of the year.
Italian media suggested that Mr Renzi’s “Plan B” could entail providing migrants with stay permits allowing them to legally leave Italy, or by barring foreign boats, including Britain’s HMS Bulwark, from offloading migrants on Italian shores – meaning they will have to deal with them.