Dealing with the rescue ship Ocean Viking puts strain on the fledgling relationship between Italy’s new government and its French counterpart. After Italy refused to allow the ship to dock for days, France agreed on Wednesday by granting permission to dock in Toulon, southern France, “in very exceptional circumstances”. But not without lashing out at the Italian authorities. “This will have very serious consequences for our bilateral relationship,” said Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin.
The issue started when the Ocean Viking, a rescue ship of the NGO SOS Méditerrannée, rescued more than 230 migrants north of Libya in mid-October. The ship was initially supposed to dock in Italy, but that country refused permission. Due to the deteriorating living conditions on board and encouraged by the Regional President of Corsica and the mayor of Marseille who said they were willing to dock the ship, the ship set sail for France a few days ago.
Nearest Port
The French government, which, unlike local administrators, is authorized to make such a decision to take, didn’t seem to want to bend at first. On Thursday morning, Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire underlined in talk show 4 Verites that ‘the European rule is that the boat must moor in the nearest port, which is an Italian port’. But in the meantime preparations were already being made in the military port of Toulon and around noon the word of salvation came. Three people on board with health problems and one escort have now been taken off board, the others will dock in Toulon on Friday.
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The first consequences for the Franco-Italian relationship are already clear. Darmanin announced that it would no longer accept the 3,500 migrants it would take over from Italy under the (voluntary) EU redistribution mechanism. He calls on “all other participants” to do the same to punish Italy for its lack of solidarity. Italy “is not acting like a responsible European state,” Darmanin said. According to the minister, Germany is ready to receive a third of the migrants from the Ocean Viking and other EU countries would also consider what they can do. France itself wants to ‘relocate’ a third of the people on board before the asylum procedure starts.
Meanwhile, Italy accuses France of hypocrisy. “France is criticizing us, but in Ventimiglia the evictions are now continuing,” Prime Minister Georgia Meloni said on Wednesday, referring to the pushbacks which, according to human rights organizations, has been take place on the French-Italian border. It is also emphasized that, despite objections, Italy has allowed three other migrant boats.
The Italians suspect that the French government initially took a firm stance for fear of radical right-wing parties in their own country. Indeed, parties such as the Rassemblement National and Reconquête strongly criticize the government. For example, Marine Le Pen of the Rassemblement National says Macron is sending a “dramatic signal of laxity”. “After this decision, no one will believe that they want to end mass and uncontrolled immigration.”