Refugee crisis in Ventimiglia 2015

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The 2015 refugee crisis in Ventimiglia was an Italian - French conflict over the illegal border crossing of refugees . In June 2015, between Ventimiglia in Liguria and Menton in southern France, there were tumults over several hundred migrants who were prevented from entering France. The people who remained at the Ponte San Ludovico until spring 2016 became a symbol of the refugee crisis in Europe in 2015, both in Italy and France .

History and general conditions

Italy is one of the countries with an EU and Schengen external border, the blue border between the Mediterranean and the Maghreb states . For several years this had become the main route for refugees and migrants from Africa . During the 2015 refugee crisis in Europe , around 100,000 people had already come to Italy by boat. Of these, only about a third applied for asylum in Italy. The others wanted to go to northern European countries and saw Italy only as a transit country, although this contradicts the Dublin II / III regulations , which provide that the country of first reception is responsible. Until the escalation on the Balkan route in the summer of that year, Italy had been the main transit country for illegal immigrants via Austria to Germany and to and through France for several years. Organizationally, Italy is overwhelmed by this situation and politically unwilling to bear the brunt of taking in asylum seekers in Europe. Gradually, the registration of newcomers was stopped and migration through Italy was tolerated: only if a refugee manages to pass Italy unidentified can he apply for asylum in another country without being deported under the Dublin Agreement.

With the onset of the holiday season, the regional political pressure also increased to free the southern Italian coastal towns from illegal refugee camps. In May 2015, the EU Commission announced that the refugee quota, which had been discussed for years, would be implemented ad hoc for all EU countries . She offered Italy to distribute 24,000 people to other EU countries for details on the Italian registration institutions. However, this quota is a threat to those refugees who are aiming for a particular dream country in Europe. “Around 170,000 people arrived in Italy last year, but only 70,000 people applied for asylum. All the others have submitted their application in other European countries. ”In parallel to the offer by the EU Commission, misleading statements by German authorities gave rise to the opinion that Germany would suspend the Dublin Agreement and no longer push back illegal immigrants. This then escalated the flow of refugees from Italy to the north.

In addition to the domestic political tensions in the country caused by the refugee crisis, the foreign policy pressure on France from the United Kingdom increased: in Calais there have been wild refugee camps since 1999. Refugees tried to pass the Eurotunnel . The conditions at the tunnel were at times catastrophic. In this case, France was also accused of failing to curb the flow of refugees to the necessary extent.

The border conflict

In mid-May France increased its border controls in Ventimiglia / Menton, the only important border crossing from Italy to the French Côte d'Azur , where hundreds of refugees tried to cross the border illegally every week, mostly of African origin (Ethiopians, Eritreans, Sudanese), but also Syrians. Because most of the refugees came by train, they were taken off the train at Menton station and pushed back straight to Italy. Because of the inaction of the local Italian authorities, bureaucratic obstacles and Italy's tolerance policy, these people were not returned to the detention camps in southern Italy, but remained in the region. The station forecourt in Ventimiglia has been converted into an emergency warehouse. The Red Cross and voluntary helpers provided emergency supplies, made more difficult by the fact that most men did not eat or drink during the fasting month of Ramadan .

The displaced and newly arriving refugees tried to cross the border at Ponte San Ludovico on foot , primarily on the SS1  (Via Aurelia) / D6007  (Route Bleue) road and the side road directly on the coast, but also along the railway line in between . As a result, the French border guards were overwhelmed and the border crossings were sealed off with massive gendarmerie forces from June 11th . In mid-June, around 1,500 migrants were camped at the border along the road and some directly on the coastal cliffs of the Balzi Rossi . The regional authorities refused to set up a controlled refugee camp.

On June 13th, there was a sit-down strike in front of the border crossing. On July 16, shortly before World Refugee Day , the Italian police cleared the larger refugee camps and took the people to the city of Ventimiglia. After that, around 600 people were stuck. As a result of the rapid communication of the refugees in relevant social networks, the flow to the border crossing quickly subsided again. Some of the border crossings shifted to the surrounding Alps , others more spacious. Most of the refugees lost their way over the next few days.

The warehouses at the Ponte San Ludovico and at the station square

Around 100 to 200 people camped on the Mediterranean rocks not far from the Ponte San Ludovico by the Roja brook, the sight of whom - while fasting Ramadan - had attracted international attention, declared their camp to be a peaceful demonstration. These persist, even in the summer heat . On July 17th, the end of Ramadan was celebrated in the presence of the Imam of Nice and activists from the No Borders group that entrusts the camp. On July 22nd, a concert by the satirist Vauro and the group Têtes de Bois with the refugees on the Balzi Rossi caused a sensation by setting the slogan “ We are not going back ” to the protest anthem. Time and again there was tension due to official measures.

The crisis in Ventimiglia intensified again in mid-September when the refugee camp on the main square grew again. There were riots again in the village.

The last refugees were then taken to other reception camps in May 2016 and the camps at Roja and at the train station were cleaned.

Reactions

With regard to EU asylum policy , France saw itself as being right, since Italy is the country of first reception and is therefore responsible for asylum processing. When it came to deportations, it relied on the Chambéry Agreement , a bilateral agreement from 1997 that allowed Italy and France to deport migrants without valid papers directly to the other country if there is any indication that they came from there. On the other hand, the blockade was a violation of the Schengen Agreement , which abolished permanent border guards. This event was the first serious closure of an internal Schengen border in the wake of the EU refugee crisis. France countered the fact that Italy had not even complied with its registration obligation under the Dublin process, which constituted a state of emergency.

The Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano spoke of a "slap in Europe's face". Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and President François Hollande were conciliatory at a meeting at the Milan Expo . Renzi spoke in relation to statements by Matteo Salvini from the right-wing populist Lega Nord, "it is no use to get hysterical", similarly Hollande spoke about statements by Marine Le Pen from the Front National .

In Ventimiglia there was a protest by the right-wing extremist Génération Identitaire , but this was quickly broken up by the Italian police.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Refugees in Italy Forced to stay. ( Memento from June 16, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Tilmann Kleinjung in tagesschau.de, June 16, 2015.
  2. ↑ Unprecedented onslaught. Miriam Schmidt and Annette Reuther in: Süddeutsche Zeitung online, August 12, 2015.
  3. ↑ a b 24,000 refugees in Italy are to be distributed across the EU. ORF.at, May 23, 2015.
  4. ^ A b Refugees in Italy: Chaos in the overwhelmed transit country. ( Memento from June 13, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Tilmann Kleinjung in tagesschau.de, June 12, 2015.
  5. ↑ a b c d Migranti, oltre mille rimandati in Italia dalla Francia. Tensione a Ventimiglia, Renzi incontrerà Hollande. repubblica.it, June 16, 2015, accessed September 6, 2015.
  6. ^ A Vintimille, des migrants abandonnés à la nuit. In: Liberation online, June 15, 2015.
  7. ^ A b Border between Italy and France: sit-in on the Côte d'Azur. ( Memento from June 15, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) tagesschau.de, June 13, 2015.
  8. ↑ Where Europe pushes its refugees back and forth. T. Bayer, M. Meister in: Die Welt online, June 16, 2015.
  9. ↑ Papa: chiediamo perdono per chi chiude la porta ai rifugiati / Migranti scogli Ventimiglia profughi rifugiati accoglienza identificazione . tg24.sky.it, June 17, 2015; accessed September 6, 2015.
  10. ↑ a b c d e f g h Oliver Meiler: The falling out of Ventimiglia: Rome and Paris accuse each other of breaking the rules when dealing with refugees - both rightly so . Tagesanzeiger online, July 21, 2015.
  11. ↑ Ventimiglia, quarto giorno sulla scogliera, il Comune chiede sostegno, la Regione dice no . genova.repubblica.it, June 15, 2015; accessed September 6, 2015.
  12. ↑ Migranti bloccati a Ventimiglia, allontanati dalla polizia con una carica, ora minacciano di gettarsi in mare. Genova.repubblica.it, June 13, 2015, accessed September 6, 2015.
  13. ↑ Ventimiglia, sgomberato il confine, i profughi sulla scogliera: tensioni, due fermati. genova.repubblica.it, June 16, 2015, accessed September 6, 2015.
  14. ^ French border: Italian police clear the refugee camp . Spiegel Online , June 16, 2015.
  15. ↑ a b c Another 600 refugees are stuck in Ventimiglia . ( Memento from September 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) In: Südtirol online , stol.it, June 19, 2015.
  16. ↑ Un buco nella rete ed ecco la Francia, la fuga sui sentieri sopra Ventimiglia. genova.repubblica.it, June 18, 2015, accessed September 6, 2015.
  17. ↑ Ventimiglia, diminuisce il numero dei migranti. I sans papiers: "venti portati oltre confine" and Ventimiglia, si svuotano gli scogli. Migranti verso Milano e la Germania. genova.repubblica.it, 20. resp. June 21, 2015, both accessed September 6, 2015.
  18. ↑ See the pictures in Migranti, in 20 lasciano la scogliera e raggiungono gli altri in stazione . genova.repubblica.it, August 17, 2015;
    A la frontière franco-italienne, l'incessant va-et-vient des migrants refoulés . In: Le Monde online, June 19, 2015.
  19. ↑ Migranti, il flusso non si arresta, ma sulla scogliera restano in pochi. genova.repubblica.it, July 7, 2015, accessed September 6, 2015.
  20. ↑ Ventimiglia, tra tensioni e la festa di fine Ramadan . genova.repubblica.it, July 17, 2015; accessed September 6, 2015.
  21. ^ "We are not going back", con Vauro e Têtes de Bois va in musica la protesta di Ventimiglia . genova.repubblica.it, July 22, 2015, accessed September 6, 2015.
  22. ↑ A Vintimille, guerre d'usure entre migrants et policiers. In: Le Monde online, August 12, 2015.
  23. ↑ Risale la tensione a Ventimiglia: "La Tendopoli è una polveriera". genova.repubblica.it, August 22, 2015, accessed September 6, 2015.
  24. ^ Contributo del vescovo ai no-borders. Patrizia Mazzarello in Il Secolo XIX Imperia , September 16, 2015.
  25. ↑ Ventimiglia: prove di guerriglia urbana a Ponte San Ludovico e Piazzale de Gasperi, lo sfogo dei residenti esasperati. SanremoNews.it, September 13, 2015.
  26. ↑ Ultimo pasto al centro migranti di Ventimiglia, Ioculano: "Ora il rilancio del turismo". And Migranti, a Ventimiglia situazione in miglioramento. Ma i No Borders tornano alla carica . In: primocanale Imperia , 10 and 12 May 2016.
  27. ^ C. Alessandro Mauceri: Ventimiglia: la Francia non sta violando alcun accordo. E 'l'Italia che confonde artatamente i clandestini con i rifugiati . In: La Voce di New York , June 20, 2015.
  28. ↑ Rome: Refugee Crisis in Ventimiglia "Slap in Europe's Face" . ( Memento of November 9, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Zeit online , June 16, 2015 - translation of the quote ibid.
  29. ↑ V intimille, "coup de poing dans la figure de l'Europe" . LeJJD.fr, June 15, 2015.

Coordinates: 43 ° 47 '4 "  N , 7 ° 31' 48"  E