Macron, stop your anti-refugee policy, Amnesty says

Not just President Trump of the USA gets lots of criticism for his harsh anti-immigration policy. So does French President Macron, Trump’s partner in crime in bombing Syria and in other issues; since Trump’s trade war and Iran shooting warmongering, now (temporarily?) a bit less of a partner.

Translated from Dutch NOS TV today:

Migration causes headaches for President Macron

Amnesty International protests in France against the new harsher migration policy of the Macron government. Today the debate on this begins in the French Senate. The first version of the law has already been approved by the French House of Representatives, the Assemblée nationale.

With light rays, Amnesty projected words and sentences on the Palais Bourbon, the stately Assemblée building. “There is room for everyone”, was read on the facade. And also: ‘How can you let people die at sea with a good conscience?’

President Macron recently came under fire because of his migration policy. Paris initially said not welcome as the [rescue ship] Aquarius drifted around the Mediterranean with more than 600 migrants on board.

What is behind the Aquarius refugee ship crisis? The European Union has to recognise that its war adventures caused the refugee crisis and start working on a real solution, by Ramzy Baroud & Romana Rubeo, 17 Jun 2018.

The government got criticism from within their own party, La République en Marche. “We have to take care of these people, it’s about human lives,” said MP Sonia Krimi of LREM.

It was only after the growing criticism that Macron came up with a concession: the boat refugees can apply for asylum in France, but the procedure must start in Spain, where they could land.

Illegal camps

Last month there was already criticism from the city council of Paris. In the capital three illegal camps were created with a total of 3000 migrants in tents and hovels on sidewalks and under viaducts. “The government must take its responsibility and provide shelter for these people“, said Mayor Anne Hidalgo.

The new asylum law is also controversial. Many aid organizations are particularly angry that the government is locking up children in anticipation of their deportation. Paris has often been criticized by the European Court of Human Rights for this.

Last year, an estimated 300 minors with their families ended up behind bars because they were illegally in France. A petition against this has now been signed by more than 100,000 French people.

Addressing the migration crisis creates divisions in the European Union. At the end of this month, the EU is organizing a migration summit to come up with solutions to the refugee crisis. Macron talks about it today with the German Chancellor Merkel and has already sat around the table with the Italian Prime Minister Conte.