More than 1,200 migrants have entered the Alpes-Maritimes since the start of 2023. To help better manage the situation, the French prime minister is sending 150 extra officers to assist at the Italian border. 

France’s prime minister, Elisabeth Borne, announced on 26th April that she will be sending an additional 150 police and gendarme officers, starting next week, to help with “increased migratory pressure at the Italian border”.  

So far this year, the Alpes-Maritimes has seen 1,202 migrants cross the border from Italy, with 110 new arrivals coming in just a single week. The situation is such that a gymnasium in Menton has had to be requisitioned to house the people hoping to come and stay, and the Alpes-Maritimes Departmental Council has said that reception systems for minor migrants are a “saturation” levels.  

This comes as the prime minister has postponed a new immigration law, which would have sped up the expulsion of illegal migrants while easing residency applications for those who work in sectors needing labour, saying that it will not pass for lack of support from the French legislature. She is hoping to revisit it again in autumn, but is reluctant to press for another divisive bill right now whilst the pension reform war still wages on.  

“Now is not the time to start a debate over a bill that could divide the French,” Borne said at a news conference. 

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Photo source: Diane Picchiottino on Unsplash