A new Franco-Italian immigration crisis? Prime Minister of Italy Georgia Meloni France’s interior minister said she was “unable to deal with immigration issues” in her country, where arrivals from North Africa are at an all-time high. Geral Darmanen.

This statement, made on the French radio RMC, provoked an immediate reaction from Rome: Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani canceled an official visit to Paris, tweeting that what Darmanin said was “unacceptable” and offensive to Italy.

Non andrò a Parigi per il reseen incontro con @MinColumn .Le offese al Governo ed all’Italia pronunciate del ministro @GDarmanin Sono inaccetabili. Non è Questo lo Spirito Con il quale si dovrève afffrontare sfide europee comuni.

— Antonio Tajani (@Antonio_Tajani) May 4, 2023

Shortly before Tajani’s decision was announced, the Center d’Orsay issued a statement emphasizing that bilateral relations “are based on mutual respect between our countries and our leaders.”

“In a spirit of solidarity, the French government wishes to work with Italy to solve the common problem of a rapid increase in migration flows,” French diplomats added, indirectly commenting on Darmanin’s remarks.

“Mrs Meloni, the far-right government (of Italy) elected by the friends of Ms (Marin) Le Pen, is unable to solve the immigration problems for which she was elected,” the French interior minister said earlier when he was asked by radio stations to comment on statements by the French president. far-right National Anxiety (RN) Jordan Bardela on the situation on the Franco-Italian border. “Yes, there is an influx of migrants and especially minors” in the south of France, he admitted, blaming neighboring Italy. “The truth is that in Tunisia (…) the political situation is pushing many children to move to Italy and Italy is not able (…) to cope with this immigration pressure (…) Meloni, like Le Pen, is elected, claiming that she succeeds better than others, and then we see that (immigration) does not stop, but increases,” Darmanin continued, referring to the Italian prime minister, who, according to him, is facing “a very serious immigration crisis.”

Last November, Franco-Italian relations experienced a period of tension when the newly inaugurated government of Georgia Meloni denied admission to the humanitarian organization SOS Méditerranée. The ship was finally allowed into the port of Toulon in France for the first time. Paris then convened a European summit with a request that this scenario not be repeated.

Since then, the number of migrants arriving in Europe via the Mediterranean has increased, especially through the new “migration corridor” from Tunisia. More than 36,000 people have arrived in Italy since the beginning of the year, up from 9,000 arrivals in the first quarter of 2022, according to the Italian Interior Ministry.

In this context, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Born announced at the end of April that an “additional” 150 police and gendarmes would be deployed in the Alpes-Maritimes department to “handle the increased immigration pressure on the border with Italy”, while the “border detachment” .

“It works very well in Australia,” Darmanen said today. “People are being checked for identity at the border,” he added.

Source: APE-MPE, AFP, Reuters.