Baku, August 5, AZERTAC
France has reinforced controls along its border with Spain following the mass arrival of migrants in Ceuta, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said Tuesday, according to Anadolu Agency.
The measure was introduced over the weekend at President Emmanuel Macron’s request after some 72,000 people crossed into the Spanish enclave in North Africa on Thursday and Friday.
Madrid said “almost all” of those who entered Ceuta had since been returned to Morocco. Spanish authorities reported a provisional death toll of at least 75.
Nunez spoke after an emergency video conference with his European counterparts to discuss the crisis.
“All member states, without exception, have expressed their solidarity with Spain,” he said, adding that France remained ready to provide further assistance through the EU border agency Frontex.
"It was recalled that the enclave of Ceuta is subject to special rules within the Schengen area since there are very strict controls," he said, adding: "All States have recognized that there has been no penetration onto the mainland."
He also praised cooperation between Spain and Morocco during the crisis.
Nunez rejected calls from France’s right and far right to exclude Spain from the Schengen free-movement area, saying member states agreed that Schengen was “not the problem” but “rather the solution.”
"The Schengen Area was never in danger, not even minimally," he further stressed.
France also announced stronger controls along its border with Italy as part of broader efforts against irregular migration.