{"id":162949,"date":"2022-11-09T15:59:41","date_gmt":"2022-11-09T14:59:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pre.efe.com\/?p=162949"},"modified":"2024-06-10T12:05:00","modified_gmt":"2024-06-10T10:05:00","slug":"france-brands-italys-migrant-policy-as-unacceptable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pre.efe.com\/en\/latest-news\/2022-11-09\/france-brands-italys-migrant-policy-as-unacceptable\/","title":{"rendered":"France brands Italy\u2019s migrant policy as \u2018unacceptable\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Paris\/Rome, Nov 9 (EFE).- Italy\u2019s decision to turn away an NGO vessel carrying 234 migrants rescued from the Mediterranean Sea is \u201cunacceptable\u201d and should be reversed, the French government said Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Olivier V\u00e9ran, spokesman for the government, told FrancInfo that it was Italy\u2019s \u201cresponsibility\u201d to welcome the migrants on board the Ocean Viking, a Norwegian-flagged vessel chartered by the French NGO SOS M\u00e9diterran\u00e9e.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The unusual criticism came the morning after Italy\u2019s new prime minister, the hard-right Giorgia Meloni, thanked French president Emmanuel Macron for apparently agreeing to open France\u2019s ports to the Ocean Viking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The French government spokesman said Wednesday that Italy\u2019s decision to shun the vessel was \u201cunacceptable\u201d and urged its neighbor to \u201chonor its European commitments\u201d and permit it to dock.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Rescued migrants gesture from a bus after disembarking from the Geo Barents ship as it is docked on the quay of ‘pier ten’ of the port of Catania, Sicily island, southern Italy, 08 November 2022. EFE\/EPA\/ORIETTA SCARDINO<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Pressed to clarify whether France had assigned a port to the Ocean Viking, as requested by the ship\u2019s operators, Ver\u00e1n said negotiations were ongoing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SOS M\u00e9diterran\u00e9e released a statement Tuesday in which director of operations Xavier Lauth warned that peoples\u2019 lives were being put at risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe situation onboard Ocean Viking reached a critical limit,\u201d Lauth said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPhysical and psychological well-being of survivors and crew have been exhausted by over two weeks of blockage at sea. It is now a humanitarian emergency needing an immediate response,\u201d he added in a statement that also pointed out that some of the migrants had spent 18 days on the vessel since their rescue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ocean Viking was due to arrive \u201cin international waters close to Corsica\u201d on Thursday, the statement said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hundreds of migrants on two other rescue vessels, the Geo Barents, operated by Doctors Without Borders (MSF), and the Humanity 1, which had been held at the Italian port city of Catania for four days, have finally been allowed to disembark after the Italian government reluctantly reversed a controversial decision to only allow \u201cvulnerable\u201d migrants \u2013
essentially women, minors and sick people \u2013 off the ships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\ud83d\udce2 "MSF team, MSF team RESCUE COMPLETE"

\u2757 A rescue is completed only when the survivors disembark in a place of safety.
\ud83d\udfe2 After days of unjustified wait, our survivors are now all in a place of safety! pic.twitter.com\/l0DQ2Kdh0i<\/a><\/p>— MSF Sea (@MSF_Sea) November 8, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote>