France’s Strategy on Migration Issues in the Mediterranean

Abstract

The Arab Spring, which started in Tunisia in late 2010, brought about political change towards democratization in many countries in the area from North Africa to the Arabian Peninsula, and abrupt political changes took place around the world, creating a significant number of immigrants and refugees. Immigrants and refugees from North African countries, such as Libya, have crossed the Mediterranean, whilst from Syria they have targeted the EU via a land-based route through Turkey. The EU member states that have served as the geographical points of entry for this large-scale influx of migrants were Italy and Greece, but migrants travelling via Italy have often moved on to neighboring France (although this may not necessarily be their final destination). When the first such “wave” surged out of Tunisia in 2011, France was forced to deal with the sudden increase of migrants and refugees, and blocked the operation of the railways across the Italian border in order to prevent this influx 1 . Although this was a temporary measure, the Italian government responded by saying that France’s response was in violation of the Schengen Agreement, and this can be seen as the beginning of a debate on the EU’s response to the migrants and refugees, including how to maintain the Schengen Agreement thereafter. France has long been a host country for immigrants (Sakai, 2016), with many immigrants residing in locations such as Paris, the capital city, and Marseilles, France’s second-largest city which faces the Mediterranean. The gateways for the large-scale movement of immigrants and refugees accompanying the Arab