Italy-France Migrant Feud Gets Biblical - ‘Salvini Is Behaving Like Pontius Pilate’

The French government is not too happy about being stuck with taken the migrants rescued by the Aquarius 2 ship in the end.

After Italy’s Interior Minister Mr Matteo Salvini told the vessel last week that they could go ‘anywhere they like, as long as it is not Italy,’ the ship’s captain decided to head for the French port of Marseille, which means that the French government now has to find suitable haven for the African immigrants.

Ms Nathalie Loiseau, the French minister for European affairs, claimed in response that: “Mr Salvini today, he’s like Pontius Pilate. It’s obscene.”

Ever since assuming office in June, Mr Salvini has been closing Italy’s ports to migrant and refugee ships traveling from Libya which has led to a strained relationship between Rome and Paris (and other EU nations).

Related coverage: <a href="https://thegoldwater.com/news/37916-Italy-EU-Fumes-As-Salvini-Parliament-Passes-Anti-Migrant-Bill-Making-Deportations-Easier#37921"> Italy - EU Fumes As Salvini Parliament Passes ‘Anti-Migrant’ Bill Making Deportations Easier</a>.

Her comments come just after French President Mr Macron said at the UN meeting in New York that Italy had “decided to no longer follow international law, in particular humanitarian maritime law.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">French official says Italian interior minister Salvini is leaving <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/migrants?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#migrants</a> to die at sea, looking the other way &quot;like Pontius Pilate&quot;. Salvini says <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/France?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#France</a> &quot;locked the border with <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Italy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Italy</a> &amp; turned back over 50,000 migrants (many from fmr French colonies)&quot; <a href="https://t.co/ZoEAG0K6vi">https://t.co/ZoEAG0K6vi</a></p>&mdash; James Wheeler (@wheelertweets) <a href="https://twitter.com/wheelertweets/status/1045158507899695104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 27, 2018</a></blockquote>

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After the Balkans route closed when Hungary built in a fence in 2016-2017, African immigrants tried to cross the Mediterranean from Libya, getting to the Italian islands of Lampedusa and Sicily. Ever since then Italy has taken in more than 650,000 migrants, which has placed a strain on reception centres and local services and mean that Mr Salvini’s anti-immigrant Lega Nord was riding high in the polls.

As soon as he was elected to government this year, Mr Salvini closed the route and stopped allowing refugee ships to board in Italian ports, leading to a lot of criticism from other European countries, most notably France.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">“Mr. Salvini today, he’s like Pontius Pilate. It’s obscene” <a href="https://t.co/GeSEKKB3Yy">https://t.co/GeSEKKB3Yy</a></p>&mdash; VICE News (@vicenews) <a href="https://twitter.com/vicenews/status/1045206403793793025?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 27, 2018</a></blockquote>

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Mr Salvini, in response to the Pontius Pilate (the Roman official who decided on the crucifixion of Jesus) remark said that France had turned back more than 50,000 migrants from the Italian border “in recent months.”

“We do not accept lessons on rights or humanity from Mr Macron.”

Given that Italy is home to the Vatican, any negative Biblical comparison for a politician is always seen as a grave insult.

Source:

http://www.ilgiornale.it/news/politica/ministro-francese-paragona-salvini-ponzio-pilato-1580944.html

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