France turning away more and more migrants: Report

By Hajer M'tiri

PARIS (AA) - The number of migrants not admitted at the French borders, in particular in the Alps, rose sharply from 2015 to 2017, from some 16,000 to over 85,000, a French NGO said in a report on Wednesday.

Based on data from the border police, the number of "non-admissions" in 2017 was 34 percent more than in 2016 (63,845 refusals), the Cimade, a French migrant aid group, said in a report.

Among those turned away were over 17,000 minors.

The French NGO added that the bulk of these decisions for 2017 concern the Franco-Italian border, with 44,433 non-admissions targeting mainly Sudanese (11,000) followed by Guineans (5,900), Moroccans (5,372), and Ivorians (5,205).

The Cimade denounced "a diversion of the fight against terrorism to control migration" within "a Europe that locks itself in".

France reintroduced its internal borders controls in the wake of the deadly November 2015 terrorist attacks.

For the NGO, "the restoration of border controls has mainly allowed an increase in existing practices related to migration controls much more than the identification or prohibition of the entry of suspected terrorists."

The aid group expressed its fear of "worst politics" to follow and a "competition between states" where everyone wants to "deter migrants from entering its national territory."

The report comes as EU countries tussle over how to handle the influx of people trying to reach the continent, with two NGO migrants rescue vessels recently turned away by Italy and Malta.

The two refused on Thursday to take in The Lifeline rescue ship, carrying migrants, including children and pregnant women. However, Valletta, the capital city of Malta, agreed Tuesday to let the ship dock once other EU states confirmed they would help.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that each of the member states -- which include France, Italy, and Portugal -- will take "a few dozen individuals" of the 233 migrants on board.

Earlier this month, Rome rejected the Aquarius ship carrying 630 migrants, forcing it to eventually dock in Spain.

Leaders of the European Union's 28 member states are set to meet Thursday and Friday in Brussels to discuss the issue of migration, with Italy’s new government balking at taking in more people, and Germany’s government divided over the issue.