PATRICK HERTZOG / AFP
Jordan Bardella, head of the RN list for the Europeans, photographed during a meeting in Montbéliard on March 22 (illustration)
POLITICS – Tension is rising a notch on the far right. After the adoption of “pact on migration and asylum” by the European Parliament on Wednesday April 10, the National Rally accused Les Républicains and Reconquête of having voted “ for the care of migrants on European territory “. An accusation that the head of the RN list in the European elections Jordan Bardella reiterated the same evening on the set of CNews.
“ My competitors from the Republicans or Reconquest! voted to take care of migrants at the borders of the European Union, completely banning the possibility of refoulement », hammered Marine Le Pen’s heir apparent, who immediately drew the wrath of Nicolas Bay, Reconquest! MEP.
“ Jordan Bardella has such little mastery of European subjects that he makes people believe that the Migration Pact is only one text when it includes 10. I voted against 7 of them and the RN against 8 of them. between them », castigated the former vice-president of the Lepéniste party on the social network incompetence » and the “ bad faith » from the poll leader.
“No knowledge of the subject”
An outing that the main party did not appreciate. “ You voted, with LR, for a text, “filtering”, which prohibits the prior refoulement of migrants and therefore requires their automatic treatment on European soil. Not me. Take responsibility for it in front of the voters, as I take responsibility for my vote », Retorted the president of the RN, provoking a new denial from Nicolas Bay.
“ Jordan, I don’t know if you’re lying or if you’re incompetent. This filtering at external borders does not prevent migrants from being pushed back since they do not enter European soil. This is the very principle of repression. Five years in office and still no knowledge of the subject,” tackled the MEP, asserting that the measure “ precisely allows refoulement since migrants will not enter European soil “.
Same exasperation expressed by the head of the Reconquête! list, Marion Maréchal. “ Not all low blows are allowed, even in the countryside “, she lashed outaccusing the RN of “ lie “.
And it’s not just the Zemmourist troops who are angry. LR MEP, Nadine Morano also contested the reading made by the president of the RN. “ It’s not true Jordan and you know it! The LR delegation did not vote for a text which distributes migrants in France! On the other hand, your RN deputies voted for the text on the filtering of migrants in committee… The proof with the voting process”, she replied.
So, what is it really? As mentioned by Nicolas Bay, the “ Pact on Migration and Asylum » is a block of ten texts, covering several aspects linked to the migration issue. And contrary to what Jordan Bardella claims, Nicolas Bay and the Republicans did not vote for the whole, but approved its most repressive measures. Namely the Eurodac plan (including the collection of fingerprints upon entry to the EU), and the “ filtering » mentioned above.
This last measure, vilified today by Jordan Bardella, was nevertheless voted for by several RN MEPs sitting in the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. Including by Philippe Olivier (also special advisor to Marine Le Pen), as we can see on this documentreporting the results of the vote on this measure aimed at “ introduce control of third-country nationals at external borders “.
As for substance, it is difficult to make this measure a device aimed at making life easier for migrants, as Jordan Bardella does. Near MediapartSophie-Anne Bisiaux, member of the NGO Migreurop, judges that this new regulation is “ the worst in terms of violation of human rights and systematization of confinement “.
Also see on HuffPost: