France 'will not welcome migrants' from Lampedusa, says minister

France says it will not welcome any migrants coming from the Italian island of Lampedusa, which last week saw a record number of arrivals.

Migrants wait at the operational centre called the "Hotspot" to receive registration papers from the Red Cross on the Italian island of Lampedusa, on September 17, 2023. The European Union presented on September 17, 2023, an emergency plan for Italy to help it handle migrant arrivals after a record number of people landed on its island of Lampedusa over the past week. Since a week, around 8,500 people -- more than the island's entire local population -- have arrived in around 200 boats, according to the UN migration agency. AFP - ZAKARIA ABDELKAFI

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin made the announcement late Tuesday, adding that Paris was ready to help Rome return migrants to countries with which the countries have good diplomatic relations – citing the example of Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal.

"If people are eligible for asylum, they are persecuted sexually, politically, religiously, obviously it's the duty of France like other European countries to welcome them," Darmanin added.

But he downplayed the presence of asylum seekers among the migrants on Lampedusa, where the International Organisation for Migration said some 8,500 people arrived on 199 boats between last Monday and Wednesday.

Emergency plan

The arrivals equal more than the whole population of the tiny Italian island, prompting European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to travel there Sunday to unveil an emergency action plan.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has called on Italy's EU partners to share more of the responsibility.

• EU vows emergency plan for Italy after surge in migrant arrivals
• Over 680 migrants dock in Lampedusa in largest single arrival in years

However sharing the burden of new arrival met with stiff resistance from bloc members. Prior to France, the right-wing governments in Poland and Hungary refused to accept the migrants from Italy.

Political parties in France, where President Emmanuel Macron has a minority in parliament, are wrangling over a draft law governing new arrivals.

France is expected to face a call from Pope Francis for greater tolerance towards migrants later this week during a high-profile visit to Mediterranean city Marseille, where the pontiff will meet Macron and celebrate mass before tens of thousands in a stadium.

(with newswires)