LIVE – Lampedusa: Head of Alpes-Maritimes denies “creating a settler camp in Mendon”

Gerald Dormanin, who arrived in Rome this evening, met his Italian counterpart Matteo Piandosi to discuss the arrival of migrants on the Italian island of Lampedusa.

“Constructive and friendly meeting at the Ministry of the Interior with the French Minister of the Interior Gérald Tarmanin,” Matteo Piantedosi X, commented earlier on Twitter.

He added: “France and Italy are united in their strong cooperation in the fight against human trafficking.”

As a reminder, Gerald Dorman has been the target of much criticism in Italy, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni accusing him of being “incapable of solving the migration problems he was elected to”.

Guest on the 8pm News TF1Marine Le Pen accused Gérald Darmanin of “doublespeak” on immigration.

When asked if the Minister of the Interior should be “committed” to the care of migrants from Lampedusa, the RN MP noted that he agreed in substance but did not approve of “following actions”.

Describing himself as his party’s “natural candidate” for 2027, he called for a “ban on immigration”. “It is up to us to decide who enters our territory and who stays (…) It is not up to Mrs. von der Leyen,” he declared.

Around 1,500 migrants were arrested at Italy’s border between September 8 and 14, the head of Alpes-Maritimes said during a press conference.

“There is no request to build a migrant camp in Mendon,” emphasized Bernard González, principal of Alpes-Maritimes, referring to a “communication error.”

“There is nothing of this type (…) in Menton or in the department,” he insisted.

“It is a question of having more equipment to put the arrested foreigners in a more favorable situation (…) before handing them over to the Italian authorities,” the border police said, describing the complex as “a bit cramped”.

The Italian government on Monday approved measures to combat the migration crisis on its soil.

Prime Minister Georgia Meloni promised on Sunday that her government would take a new turn. The measure was approved by the cabinet on Monday and will now be voted on in parliament, according to AFP’s government source.

The nationalist leader instructed his defense minister to set up new detention centers “as soon as possible”.

These steps are detailed in this article.

“If 11,000 men land on the island of Lampedusa with a population of 6,000, it’s not drowning, it’s an invasion”, LR MEP Nadine Morano, launched on the BFMTV set.

The Alpes-Maritimes prefecture will make land available in the commune of Menton to deal with migrants from Lampedusa, BFMTV has learned from civil defense and police on the commune’s borders. This Monday.

Faced with a wave of migrant arrivals, the Italian government will introduce measures on Monday aimed at extending the period of detention of these people and allowing large numbers of repatriations for those who do not have the right to stay in the region. Reuters reported that officials said.

According to the Italian agency, “chaos” reigns at Porto Empedocles’ Sicilian reception center, where migrants arrived in Lampedusa last week. Ansa.

The press agency reports that “more than a thousand migrants have gathered at the center since yesterday”, with some “continuing to try to escape the structure”. According to the latter, “at least a hundred people have already managed to leave the structure”.

A further 1,300 migrants were at the Lampedusa reception center this morning, where about 8,500 landed last week. The center has 400 seats.

“Transfers scheduled to evacuate the center last night were actually canceled because the traffic zone of Porto Empedocles (in Sicily) is now overloaded,” reports the Italian agency. Ansa.

BFM Nice Côte d’Azur learned from the Civil Protection and Border Police to deal with the influx from Lampedusa, Alpes-Maritimes prefecture.

A site will be selected in the coming hours to accommodate at least 150 or even 200 people per day. The migrants were welcomed in tents a few hundred meters from the Italian border.

Details about this new “accommodation” center can be read in this article.

The chairman of the Finance Committee is irritated by the stance of the National Rally and Restructuring.

“The far right are playing an unhealthy recovery game to fuel their racist rhetoric and disengagement,” the rebel MP told LCI this morning.

France has stepped up surveillance on its border with Italy, particularly in Menton, where many migrants have been turned back in recent days.

On site, BFMTV met migrants from West Africa who had traveled through several countries to try to return to the French border, facing many dangers.

“There was suffering,” says Patrice, who comes with his wife from Ivory Coast, “Madam, they almost raped her, they did her.” I don’t want anyone to attack her. , they fell on me, they attacked me. on the head. Other testimonies from immigrants on the Franco-Italian border can be read in this article.

The right and far-right are refusing to welcome some of the migrants who arrived in Lampedusa last week.

Enough to annoy former Socialist presidential candidate Benoît Hamon.

“Air Bull’s theory is unsupported and only allows its defenders to stir the air to blow the air of ignorance, nationalism and discord,” wrote X (formerly Twitter), who now runs an NGO called Singha.

The organization aims to integrate immigrants.

Environmentalist Sandrine Rousseau condemned this morning At X (formerly Twitter) The “xenophobic political treatment” of the arrival of at least 8,500 migrants in Lampedusa last week compared the arrivals to Ukrainian refugees in Europe since the start of the war.

“Europe has welcomed several million Ukrainians, which is great. A few thousand migrants in Lampedusa are nothing,” said the Paris MP.

According to the UN Refugee Agency, of the 8 million Ukrainians who have fled their country since February 2022 (20% of the population), 4.8 million are in the European Union or the United Kingdom.

Sebastien Chenu does not take kindly to Georgia Meloni regarding her management of Lampedusa.

“He made unprovoked comments (on immigration), he didn’t want to implement (his campaign promises), it’s a complete disappointment,” the RN deputy denounced in the Commons this morning.

“He is obviously wrong in his approach. Crying for help from the EU is obviously not the right solution,” Sébastien Chenu reiterated. Details of MP’s comments can be read in this article.

The Italian leader promised a “naval blockade” during his campaign to prevent any migrant boats from accessing Italian shores.

Rebel deputy Francois Ruffin reckoned “out of 11,000”. [migrants arrivés la semaine dernière à Lampedusa]If France takes her share, about a thousand people will be welcome in our territory.

“I think it can be done without talking about invasion or drowning!”, the Vice-President on the Somme judged. France Inter.

François Ruffin also advocated “language training and training in a profession” for the immigrants France welcomed.

Alain Juppé, a former minister and candidate for the 2017 presidential election, assessed this Monday on RMC-BFMTV “Route”, in countries of departure.

“The real solution, [c’est de] Struggle against inequality and restore the conditions for development,” the Constitutional Council member ruled.

“I don’t have a solution”, he admitted, however, “it’s a big challenge, a challenge for Europe”.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who visited the island of Lampedusa on Sunday, promised a European aid program to better manage the influx of migrants to Italy.

The program is part of the Inter-State Solidarity Mechanism, specifically taking care of migrants coming to Italian territory from other countries of the European Union.

“Irregular immigration is a European challenge that requires a European response,” Ursula van der Leyen said on Sunday.

Interior Minister Gerald Torman made the announcement on Monday 1 in Europe Emmanuel Macron that he will go to Rome “in the afternoon” “at the request of the President of the Republic”.

“It is a mistake to think that because migrants are coming to Europe, they should be distributed among all the countries of Europe,” argued the interior minister.

However, he explained that “if there are asylum seekers because they are persecuted for political reasons, they are refugees and in these cases France (… ) can accept these people”.

Hello everyone, and welcome to this live broadcast dedicated to last week’s massive influx of immigrants to the Italian island of Lampedusa.

The European Union announced an emergency plan on Sunday to help Italy manage the influx. Giorgia Meloni, head of the Italian government, assessed that “the future of Europe is at stake” in Lampedusa.

Interior Minister Gerald Dormanin announced that he would travel to Rome in the afternoon “at the request of the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron”.