Four days after the Franco-German agreement on asylum seeker quotas, François Hollande announced that France would welcome 24,000 refugees over the next two years to alleviate the burden on countries facing the influx of migrants.
To “dispel the concerns” of the French people, who remain largely opposed (according to a survey, 55% of respondents are against it), François Hollande assured that the welcoming of refugees would not happen “just anywhere and anyhow.”
In an effort to sweeten the pill, the President of the Republic used strong words: “the principle of the right to asylum is enshrined in the preamble to the Constitution.”
A meeting will be organized at the Ministry of the Interior with Mayors to set the parameters for territorial distribution. It is not expected to be easy, considering that public opinion (stirred up by right-wing parties) has (re)discovered the Gallican France that must be protected from the invasion of… “those people!”
In Nice and the surrounding department, the initial reactions are not the most favorable. Christian Estrosi has already expressed himself: “I won’t let the government dictate a policy based on quotas to me,” and continued: “I didn’t wait for this government to take initiatives.”
One wonders what initiatives, apart from asking the Prefect and border police services to “fortify” the passage between Italy and France at the Ventimiglia border and shouting about an invasion when about fifty migrants stayed for a few hours or days at the Nice train station.
As for the President of the departmental council, “I am making clear proposals: a military action to block the traffickers and the opening of detention centers managed by the EU.”
Moreover, both political leaders are in sync with the voters of what happens to be the most right-leaning department of France, where they like foreigners, but only when they come as tourists!
In the evening, Michel Vauzelle, the president of the PACA region, announced the convening of an extraordinary plenary session for Monday, September 14, to address the issue of aid to refugees and to decide on the measures the Region can quickly implement.
“Our region, which is Mediterranean, like France and Europe, has a moral duty of solidarity,” he declared.
“I also call on the mayors and leaders of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur community. The Region will assist them if they agree to host refugees,” proposed Michel Vauzelle.
During an election campaign, with two political parties fully playing the xenophobia card and likely to criticize government policy, the session is expected to be… lively.
