A few days after a ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) restricting the methods of pushing back migrants, the French Ministry of the Interior defended on Saturday September 23 the controls carried out at its borders in view of the “terrorist and migratory context”.
“It is essential that the services of the Ministry of the Interior, in the terrorist and migratory context that we are experiencing, have the means to protect the borders. The minister is paying particular attention to this”we emphasize at Place Beauvau where we judge that “the capacity for control and action of State forces and services at the borders remains, to ensure border control and fight against irregular immigration and the associated security risks”.
Requested by the Council of State, itself referred to by several associations, the CJEU ruled on Thursday that France could not proceed in all cases to the refoulement, to a neighboring country, of a foreign national who had entered its territory irregularly. .
“The Court judges that, in such a situation, a decision to refuse entry can be adopted on the basis of the Schengen Borders Code but that, with a view to the removal of the person concerned, the common standards and procedures provided for by the “return” directive must still be respected, which may result in depriving the adoption of such a decision to refuse entry of a large part of its usefulness.according to the CJEU ruling.
For Paris, this decision all the same “that the Member State which has reintroduced control at its internal borders may refuse entry to foreigners who do not meet the conditions of entry and residence”, indicates the Ministry of the Interior, requested by Agence France-Presse (AFP). It will return to the Council of State “to translate its scope into national law in terms of procedures”we add from the same source.
Pope calls for “hospitality”
The CJEU’s decision comes as Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced this week a strengthening of controls at the Franco-Italian border, with police and gendarmerie numbers set to increase from 500 to 700, in particular to prevent irregular crossings after the massive arrivals on the island of Lampedusa.
The issue of migrants in the Mediterranean was raised on Friday by Pope Francis on his first day of visit to Marseille, where the sovereign pontiff castigated “indifference” and the ” fear “ in a context of growing hostility towards candidates for exile in a Europe tempted by withdrawal.
“Two words resonated, fueling people’s fear: “invasion” and “emergency”. But those who risk their lives at sea do not invade, they seek hospitality”launched the sovereign pontiff, believing that this process must be managed “with European responsibility capable of facing objective difficulties”.
Strong words in a context of growing hostility in Europe towards candidates for exile which is testing the solidarity of the European Union. The pope spoke in front of numerous French officials and European institutions, including French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin.