Italy and France renew row over migration
Rome: Italy’s foreign minister cancelled talks with his French counterpart over what he said were “insulting” comments about his government’s migration policy.
The planned trip to Paris on Thursday (May 4) by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani was called off at the last minute, because of comments made by Gérald Darmanin, the French interior minister, about Italy’s migration policy.
Interviewed on the popular and slightly humorous French political talk show ‘Les Grandes Geules’ (RMC Radio), Darmanin labelled the Italian government incapable and said its leader, Giorgia Meloni, had been “unable to solve the migration problems on which she was elected.”
Darmanin also accused Meloni of “lying” to voters, because she had broken a promise to put a stop to migrants crossing the Mediterranean to Europe.
In fact, so far in 2023 there has been a dramatic increase in the number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean to Italy, compared with the last two years. According to figures published on May 5 by the Italian interior ministry, there have been 42,449 arrivals since the start of the year.
Darmanin blamed Meloni for what he called “a huge flow of migrants,” including unaccompanied minors, in Menton, the French town closest to the Italian border.
Refering in particular to young Tunisians arriving in Italy and then traveling north to France, he said more checks should be carried out in Italy and at the French border to distinguish between what he termed “real minors” and “fake minors.”
The interior minister accused Meloni and the French far-right politician Marine Le Pen of pursuing similar tactics of “over-simplification” of the situation, while he said Europe was in a “very serious migration crisis.”
Tajani’s visit to meet with French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna was originally planned to help restore good relations between the two countries, which have fallen out several times in recent years over migration policy and the reception of migrants.
In the past, Italy has accused France of pushing migrants back across the Alpine border into Italy, and not stepping up to help in the reception of the migrants rescued in the Mediterranean.
On Thursday Tajani tweeted that he would “not be going to Paris as planned to meet with Minister Colonna. The insults to the Italian government and to Italy made by Minister Darmanin are unacceptable. This is not the spirit in which common European challenges should be addressed.”
The response from Paris was swift. Within an hour of Tajani’s tweet, Colonna confirmed that she had phoned her Italian counterpart to say that “relations between Italy and France are based on reciprocal respect, between our two countries and between our two governments. I hope to be able to welcome him soon in Paris.”
The issue was not mentioned directly on Darmanin’s Twitter account: the interior minister instead posted about moves to break up migrant camps and criminal gangs within France.
The spat continued to occupy the media in France and Italy on Friday. Italy’s Sky News 24 reported that Tajani demanded a full apology from France.
He also told the Italian centrist broadsheet Corriere della Sera that the French government had not done enough to explain Darmanin’s comments, which he complained had been a “cheap jibe” and “vulgar”.
