France seals border with Italy as record number of migrants arrive in Lampedusa

Milan: While on the Italian island of Lampedusa record numbers of migrants have arrived, France and Germany are strengthening their borders. Italian deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini has lashed out at the EU for leaving Italy to shoulder the burden on its own.

Boats filled with migrants are waiting to disembark on Lampedusa against a backdrop of record-high numbers arriving. While the Italian Coast Guard’s Diciotti ship was carrying out marathon efforts to pick up 800 people at sea, even before they arrived on the island both Germany and France closed their doors to migrants from Italy.

French interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, has said that he plans to strengthen the border between Menton and Italy’s Ventimiglia to curb clandestine migration.

“We have a 100% increase in flows, which affects the Alpes-Maritimes and the entire Alps,” Darmanin told reporters after a visit on September 12 to the Menton border post.

Germany has meanwhile decided to halt a selection process for asylum seekers arriving in the country from Italy as part of a “voluntary solidarity” mechanism. This decision, the interior minister told the Welt media outlet, was due to “strong migration pressure” and “the continued suspension of Dublin Accord transfers”. Italy, he added, has been informed of the decision to “postpone” the process until further notice.

These political issues are far from the problems faced by those handling the arrivals on Lampedusa. “We are holding up fairly well. I remember that about 15 days ago we handled almost 4,500 people,” said Agrigento police chief Emanuele Ricifari.

Prefect Filippo Romano said that the situation would improve when “we have a Porto Empedocle hotspot and the transfer ships are ready,” but that “the problem remains.”

Confirmation was also received from Lampedusa mayor, Filippo Mannino, who called for a reception system for anchored ships for taking in and transferring migrants to land and a special Cabinet meeting on Lampedusa to look into the situation.

“Immediate intervention by the Civil Protection is urgently needed to support both the migrants and the local population itself, which – after 30 years of generous reception – has by now exhausted its psycho-physical and economic resources,” he added.

The line-up of small boats waiting to enter the port is an image that provoked an immediate reaction from Transport and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Savini, who is also the leader of the League party. He once again placed the blame on the “absence of Europe” in dealing with the situation.

“Defending borders is not a right, it is a duty. While many spoke about migration in the past, when we make a promise we do everything we can” to ensure that it is fulfilled, Salvini said.

Ahead of his appointment in Palermo to appear in court as part of the Open Arms trial, Salvini added that “I did what I would redo a thousand times.”

This position was shared by the deputy mayor of the Palegie islands and fellow League party member Attilio Lucia, who called for “alternative reception measures. I am addressing the national and European institutions, which do not have the slightest idea of what they are doing today on Lampedusa. I invite you to come see with your own eyes. We cannot and we do not want to take on the burden of this migration issue while the EU remains shortsighted before an event that will go down in history.”

Agrigento archbishop, Alessandro Damiano, also expressed concern over the situation on Lampedusa. “I would like to address a heartfelt appeal to intervene in a timely manner to ensure more regular management of migration flows transiting towards the island: management that is equally respectful towards those who – out of desperation and need – seek refuge on our coasts as well as those who, out of a humanitarian spirit, sense of civic duty and Christian charity, have always been willing to receive them but who now no longer have the strength to take on the burden alone.”