France “will not accept migrants” from the Italian island of Lampedusa, which has been facing a significant influx of migrants for several days, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanen said on Tuesday, showing the government’s “firm position” on the issue, AFP reported. .

Migrants in LampedusaPhoto: Alessandro Serrano’/AGF / Sipa Press / Profimedia

On the other hand, we told our Italian friends that we are ready to help them send people back to countries with which we have good diplomatic relations,” Darmanin told TF1, citing Ivory Coast and Senegal as examples.

French authorities are preparing to open a 100-bed “space” for “temporary isolation” at the border with Italy if large numbers of migrants try to enter France illegally, the French interior ministry and the local prefecture announced on Monday, AFP reported. .

About 1,500 migrants were arrested between September 8 and 14 ahead of the mass arrival on the small Italian island of Lampedusa.

All arrested migrants are subject to a denial of entry procedure and are picked up by the Italian police after an average of four hours.

But at night or on busy days, these readmissions take longer and the border police (PAF) facility in Menton (southeast France) becomes too cramped.

Therefore, the prefecture is looking for land near these facilities for temporary expansion, using tents or prefabs, with the help of the local civil defense association, to accommodate people in decent conditions, the prefect explained.

The current PAF headquarters can accommodate around a hundred people and the planned expansion will double this capacity.

According to Italy’s Interior Ministry, more than 12,000 migrants arrived on Italian shores last week, most of them in Lampedusa.

The situation has shaken Italy and raised again the issue of European solidarity, which French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanen and his Italian counterpart Matteo Piantedosi plan to discuss in Rome on Monday evening.

French authorities fear an influx at the border if some migrants who have recently arrived in Italy try to continue their journey to the rest of Europe.

This is not a “migrant camp,” the French interior ministry insisted, denying media reports.