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IMMIGRATION

Half of Aquarius migrants will ‘seek asylum in France’

Almost half of the 630 migrants that were rescued from the Mediterranean and arrived in Spain's port of Valencia at the weekend want to seek asylum in France, the Spanish government said Monday.

Half of Aquarius migrants will 'seek asylum in France'
Karpov / SOS MEDITERRANEE / AFP

The migrants arrived in Spain on Sunday in three vessels, including the rescue ship Aquarius, after being turned away by Italy and Malta last week.   

France has said it will work with Spain to deal with asylum applications.   

READ MORE: ‘It’s been a long time since I was hugged like this': Aquarius girl, 12, to rescuer

“Almost half the migrants have shown their willingness to seek asylum in France, whic offered to welcome some of the people travelling on the ship,” Spain's new socialist government said in a statement.

Pascal Brice, director-general of France's refugee protection office Ofpra, told AFP that one of his teams would travel to Valencia soon.   

“As soon as the Spanish authorities have informed us of the number of people concerned, a team from Ofpra will go on site to conduct the interviews and ensure that people are covered by the right to asylum,” he said, adding that the process should take place this week.

The majority of the 630 migrants are from Africa, including 450 men and 80 women, of which at least seven are pregnant, as well as 89 adolescents and 11 children under the age of 13, according to the Valencian authorities.   

The Aquarius rescued them off Libya's coast on June 9th and Italy and Malta's refusal to let the ship dock led to an international outcry before Spain stepped in to help.

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IMMIGRATION

France ‘will not welcome migrants’ from Lampedusa: interior minister

France "will not welcome migrants" from the island, Gérald Darmanin has insisted

France 'will not welcome migrants' from Lampedusa: interior minister

France will not welcome any migrants coming from Italy’s Lampedusa, interior minister Gérald Darmanin has said after the Mediterranean island saw record numbers of arrivals.

Some 8,500 people arrived on Lampedusa on 199 boats between Monday and Wednesday last week, according to the UN’s International Organisation for
Migration, prompting European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to travel there Sunday to announce an emergency action plan.

According to Darmanin, Paris told Italy it was “ready to help them return people to countries with which we have good diplomatic relations”, giving the
example of Ivory Coast and Senegal.

But France “will not welcome migrants” from the island, he said, speaking on French television on Tuesday evening.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has called on Italy’s EU partners to share more of the responsibility.

The recent arrivals on Lampedusa equal more than the whole population of the tiny Italian island.

The mass movement has stoked the immigration debate in France, where political parties in the country’s hung parliament are wrangling over a draft law governing new arrivals.

France is expected to face a call from Pope Francis for greater tolerance towards migrants later this week during a high-profile visit to Mediterranean city Marseille, where the pontiff will meet President Emmanuel Macron and celebrate mass before tens of thousands in a stadium.

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