France Slams Italy Over Fate of ‘Ocean Viking’ Migrant Boat

Gerald Darmanin, France's minister of public action and accounts, looks on during a budget briefing at the economy ministry in Paris, France, on Wednesday, Sept. 27. 2017. President Emmanuel Macron’s administration plans to cut French public spending to its lowest level since the start of the financial crisis next year and squeeze the tax take to its lowest since 2010 as part of a strategy to remake the economy and revive the nation’s standing in Europe. , Bloomberg

Ania Nussbaum, Bloomberg News

Nov 10, 2022

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(Bloomberg) -- Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin slammed Italy for flouting international and European Union law by refusing to allow a boat carrying migrants to dock in its ports, and said France would retaliate by imposing border controls between the two countries.

“Italy’s new authorities made the incomprehensible choice of not responding to the ship’s multiple requests for assistance,” Darmanin said after a cabinet meeting in Paris on Thursday. He described that as “unacceptable” and “irresponsible” behavoir. 

In response, France is suspending the relocation of 3,500 migrants from so-called first-entry countries and is calling on European partners, “notably Germany,” to do the same, Darmanin said. 

France will strengthen border controls with Italy in the coming hours, he added.

The Ocean Viking is carrying 234 passengers, including around 60 children and 20 sick people, and will dock in the southern French city of Toulon on Friday, according to Darmanin. About a third of passengers will remain in France, while another third will go on to Germany. 

The measure is “exceptional,” he said. The ship, operated by the SOS Mediterranee aid organization, has been waiting for permission to dock in Italy since last month. 

“We don’t understand the lack of listening, the dithering and perhaps even the lack of professionalism of the people we are talking to in Italy,” Darmanin said. “So, we made a decision to save lives now that this boat is in French territorial waters.”

The two countries have sparred over where to disembark migrants before, but this is their first public row since right-wing leader Giorgia Meloni became Italy’s prime minister. Emmanuel Macron was the first EU leader to visit her in Rome after she formed her government.

Darmanin said the EU would hold a meeting on the fate of such ships in the Mediterranean sea and the respect of the bloc’s rules in the coming days. 

In Brussels, EU spokesperson Anitta Hipper told reporters on Thursday that the “situation on board the vessel has reached a critical level.” She added that member states have a “legal obligation to rescue” -- this is a “clear and unequivocal obligation.”

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