Since Rome refused to dock theOcean Viking, forcing France to welcome the ship stuck for more than two weeks at sea with its 234 survivors on Friday November 11 in Toulon, all eyes are on Rome and the hard line of the new Italian government of Giorgia Meloni in terms of migration policy. In a few days, the epithets fused between the two neighbors, Paris judging « irresponsible » et “inhuman” Italy, which in turn qualified France to be « agressive » and to have broken the trust.
On Friday, the far-right leader apparently played both incomprehension and appeasement during a press conference, while ensuring that she was in her right. “France had declared that it could welcome theOcean Viking without making a selection, as had been the case in Italy and this information was not denied for 8 hours, so I thanked them for their gesture of solidarity. It was a gesture of appeasement. »
A standoff of 48 hours
It was a note sent three days earlier by the Palazzio Chigi which set fire to the powder between Paris and Rome. Giorgia Meloni thanked France which – according to the press release – agreed to host theOcean Viking in one of its ports. Information immediately denied by the French authorities. There followed a standoff of nearly 48 hours during which the French executive hoped to convince Italy to respect international maritime law, which provides that survivors at sea are welcomed in the nearest port.
The French government immediately withdrew from the relocation agreement put in place this summer by several Member States of the European Union, including France and Germany, which provided for the voluntary reception of 8,000 migrants arriving in countries of first entry into Europe such as Italy. France was to welcome 3,500, already present on Italian soil. However, for the moment, only a dozen asylum seekers have been able to benefit from it. Faced with Italian intransigence, Gérald Darmanin meanwhile announced the reinforcement of controls at the Franco-Italian border, with the mobilization of 500 police and gendarmes in the border towns. A judged reaction “completely incomprehensible” by Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi.
“Something’s not working”
“It’s not smart to argue with France, Spain, Greece, Malta or other countries. I want to look for a common solution”acknowledged Giorgia Meloni on Friday, while denouncing the principles of European management of migrants. “Something’s not working”, she judges. And to add that he “is not written in any agreement” that Italy should be “the only possible port of disembarkation in the Mediterranean”.
At the same time, the Chairman of the Board recalled the need for a “common solution to defend European borders”, again evoking his naval blockade project (reinforcement of European borders and creation of hotspots in North Africa to limit departures). Position she had already supported in a tweet on Tuesday evening: “The citizens have asked us to defend the Italian borders and this government will not betray its word. »
A “misunderstanding” of international diplomacy
What is the part of awkwardness or strategy in the new Italian leader? For the editorialist specializing in Franco-Italian relations Gigi Riva, what Giorgia Meloni presents as a gesture of appeasement is above all a “diplomatic error”. “She didn’t follow protocol. She came forward when the deal was not official,” continues the specialist who sees in it a proof of « his ignorance” of international diplomacy, more than a desire to exert pressure vis-à-vis France. “It’s not a problem between France and Italy, the same could have happened with Germany, says the specialist. It is a European problem. Meloni wanted above all to reassure her electorate, to show that she was going to hold the line for which she was elected and to put an end to the Dublin agreements. »