French court rules against basic tenant of the EU
France will continue border controls on migrants at the Italian frontier after a French court ruled they don't violate an agreement that guarantees free movement among 26 European countries, France24 reports.
France's top administrative court dismissed a complaint by three organizations in support of the hundreds of refugees stranded at the Franco-Italian border, most of whom come from Africa.
The Schengen agreement, which France signed in 1985, ensured no border controls between all European signatory states and was defined as such: "The Schengen area represents a territory where the free movement of persons is guaranteed. The signatory states to the agreement have abolished all internal borders in lieu of a single external border."
The French court does not consider that the agreement applies here, however.
"The suppression of systematic interior border controls in the Schengen area does not prevent French authorities from carrying out identity controls," it said in a statement.
The statement also said those controls did not equate to implementing a permanent and systematic control at the border and would therefore continue.
France has been stopping the mostly African migrants from entering into its territory since dozens of them have been camped out near the Italian border post at Ventimiglia.
The situation has created tensions between the two countries and illustrates how the huge migrant crisis is affecting Europe. Over 105,000 migrants have entered the EU since the beginning of the year, 55,000 of them through Italy.
French President Francois Hollande has also defended the use of those controls, saying they were "applying the rules," in reference to the Dublin agreement which stipulates that migrants have to apply for asylum in the first European country they reach.
Other countries have also started taking measures against the rising numbers of migrants reaching Europe. On June 17, Hungary announced it would build a barrier on its border with Serbia.
Join the conversation about this story »
