Le Pen: "We must leave Scgen"

In France, the president of the National Front, Marine Le Pen denounced the "gestures of Weekend electioneering" and considered that French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his government "have definitely lost all credibility in the management of immigration." Le Pen, who in mid-March made a flying visit to the Italian island of Lampedusa, where they have reached the vast majority of Tunisian immigrants, recalled that he had "warned for weeks (...) of the immigration consequences of revolutions Arabs.

" "And the Government has not done anything," he said Le Pen. For the far-right National Front leader, "just leave France Scgen space enable the country to control its borders." "The decision on Sunday is completely arbitrary," said Socialist Party Senator David Assouline. "These were equipped with a Tunisian official document that allows them to travel through space Scgen" concluded Assouline.

On the conservative side, MEP and former Minister of Justice, Rachida Dati, countered by accusing the Italian government for not respecting the spirit of the agreements Scgen with the creation of these temporary stay permits to immigrants. "The issue is not the human tragedy but the fact that it is encouraging to criminal gangs, the mafia and smugglers," said Rachida Dati.

"This goes against Scgen Convention and the spirit that has so far pursued the policy of European immigration," said the former minister told Agence France Presse during a visit to Madrid.

• Schengen - Origins and Principles (16/04/2011)
• Entry Into The Schengen Zone: Medical Insurance is Mandatory (13/04/2011)
• Insurance Schengen Visa (14/04/2011)
• Press sting hits Romania's Schengen ambitions (11/02/2011)
• EU border deal under threat in row over Italy's migrant burden (18/04/2011)