THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Libya is unleashing a wave of migrants against Europe as retaliation for the coalition's military strikes against the country.
The opening of immigration floodgates came as Italy announced that it would grant travel permits to more than 20,000 Tunisian refugees who have reached its southernmost islands in recent weeks.
The Italian government said the temporary permits would grant the refugees freedom of movement within the visa-free Schengen area, but in reality most want to head to France.
Paris reacted angrily to the move, with Claude Gueant, the interior minister, saying the country would not tolerate "a wave of immigration" and warning that migrants without appropriate identity documents and sufficient funds would be prevented from entering.
The Schengen zone excludes Britain and Ireland, but migrants could attempt to enter the UK illegally from the Continent.
The Tunisians are among nearly 26,000 migrants who have managed to reach the tiny island of Lampedusa, Italy's southernmost territory, since January, when president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was toppled by a popular revolt.
In neighbouring Libya, Col. Muammar Gadaffi's regime is alleged to have been actively encouraging boatloads of migrants to leave the country's shores since March 22, when the first vessel sailed from Tajoura, a suburb of Tripoli. » | Nick Squires, Rome and Damien McElroy in Valletta | Thursday, April 07, 2011
LE POINT: Paris a rappelé à ses préfets les conditions d'accueil des migrants. Un reproche à peine caché aux autorités italiennes.
Le ministère de l'Intérieur a rappelé, dans une circulaire aux préfets mercredi, les conditions d'accueil des immigrés passés par un pays de l'espace Schengen, au moment où des dizaines de clandestins tunisiens venus d'Italie sont interceptés chaque jour en France. Alors que Rome reproche à la France de lui renvoyer ces clandestins, cette circulaire énumère les conditions de séjour des ressortissants issus "d'un pays tiers" et "en provenance du territoire d'un autre État membre de l'espace Schengen". » | Le Point.fr | Vendredi 08 Avril 2011
LE FIGARO: Lampedusa : une circulaire contre les flux migratoires » | Par Jean-Marc Leclerc | Jeudi 07 Avril 2011
