Leaders of the French far-right attacked hundreds of migrants stranded in the Mediterranean on board the "Ocean Viking" ship, refusing to receive them, while tensions escalated between Rome and Paris over receiving this ship.

The Ocean Viking, operated by the French NGO SOS Mediterranee, is sailing towards France after Italy refused for more than two weeks to allow it to dock.

The ship's matter captured the attention of politicians in Italy and France, and fueled a battle between those who refused to receive migrants and those who welcomed them for humanitarian reasons.

right-wing positions

Yesterday evening, Wednesday, the leader of the far-right "Restitution" party, Eric Zemour, said, in a tweet on Twitter, that: smugglers portray migrants to Europe as a paradise, their crossing is hell for them, and their arrival here is a nightmare for us as well as for them.

Let us not be partners in crime: let us refuse to welcome the Ocean Viking.

Les passeurs font croire aux migrants que l'Europe est un eldorado.

Leur traversée est un enfer pour eux et leur arrivée chez nous est un cauchemar pour nous, likeme pour eux.

No devenons pas complices: refusons d'accueillir l'#OceanViking.

- Eric Zemmour (@ZemmourEric) November 9, 2022

For his part, the leader of the same party, Diman Rio, said sarcastically, "The migrants must be received on board the Ocean Viking ship, because there are not many of them (immigrants)," accompanying his tweet with a 36-second video clip documenting the spread of irregular immigrants' tents in the "Porte de la Chapelle" area. North of the capital, Paris.

Il faut absolument accueillir les migrants de l'#OceanViking car il n'y en a pas assez Porte de La Chapelle ☺️ pic.twitter.com/Pir8Msw9Up

- Damien Rieu (@DamienRieu) November 9, 2022

Rio also posted another tweet in which he asked: Why did the migrant taxi Ocean Viking of SOS Mediterranee not respect the law of the sea?

Why were the passengers not disembarked at the nearest port, that is, in Tunis instead of Marseille?

Attached to his commentary is a map of the route taken by the immigrant ship.

Pour the taxi à migrants #OceanViking of @SOSMedFrance refuse to respect the droit de la mer en débarquant ses passagers at port le more proche, en Tunisie, plutôt qu'à Marseille ?

pic.twitter.com/vu1tgQowIZ

- Damien Rieu (@DamienRieu) November 9, 2022

For his part, the official spokesman for the French National Rally Party, Philippe Ballard, refused, during a television interview with the French BFM TV channel, to receive the Ocean Viking ship, and justified his position by the need to stop human trafficking, and the necessity of putting an end to the mafias that organize what he called "Human misery".

He continued, saying: We cannot welcome these people in France because we already have a great tragedy to deal with.

🎙 Not to the Ocean Viking.

He did not know this trait of human beings.

He is the most important of the mafias who organized this misère humane.

We don't have enough money in capacité d'accueillir ces gens in France, so we don't have enough money to pay attention.

#BFMTV pic.twitter.com/aZOg21zh0C

- Philippe Ballard (@BallardPhilippe) November 9, 2022

stress and procedures

The positions of the French far-right come at a time when tension prevails between France and Italy over this ship, which prompted Paris to condemn Rome's "unacceptable" refusal to dock the ship.

French government spokesman Olivier Ferrand called on the Italian authorities yesterday, Wednesday, to "play their role" and "respect their European obligations" to receive the ship.

"The ship is currently in Italian territorial waters and there are very clear European rules accepted by the Italians, who are in fact the first beneficiaries of the European Financial Solidarity Mechanism," Ferran said.

The government of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who took office two weeks ago, is cracking down on ships belonging to humanitarian aid organisations, urging them to take rescued migrants to other countries.

The government says that Italy alone cannot receive the waves of displaced people from North Africa.

Meloni has taken strict measures against ships belonging to humanitarian relief organizations (Getty Images)

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani confirmed in an interview published on Wednesday that Italy's new hardline approach to immigration policy is a message to urge other EU countries to do their part.

A senator for the Italian Democratic Party, Graziano Delrio, criticized his country's position, indicating that Italy should have received the ship, and said: The government chose the forced return. It is an ugly page written by the right that defames the country. Respect for human rights is the polar star of democracy.

🗣 TEMOIGNAGE: "We have some of the most vivants who have been freed. They are the same sex who have children, women, children. We demand from the population, to the #UnionEuropeanne we don't want a port of arms."

#UrgenceEnMéditerranée pic.twitter.com/PbvfQYkHgm

- SOS MEDITERRANEE France (@SOSMedFrance) November 9, 2022

Invitations and demands

On its Twitter page, the French organization SOS Mediterranee posted videos of migrants on board the ship, complaining about their conditions and calling for their rescue.

An African immigrant says: We are human beings, we want to be free, there are sick people, women and children, we ask the European Union to allow us to dock in a safe port.

Hours ago, the French organization described leaving 234 migrants stranded for 19 days at sea as a "disgrace".

🗣 TEMOIGNAGE: "We have some of the most vivants who have been freed. They are the same sex who have children, women, children. We demand from the population, to the #UnionEuropeanne we don't want a port of arms."

#UrgenceEnMéditerranée pic.twitter.com/PbvfQYkHgm

- SOS MEDITERRANEE France (@SOSMedFrance) November 9, 2022

It is noteworthy that the European Commission called yesterday, Wednesday, for the “immediate disembarkation in the safe port” closest to the 234 migrants on board the Ocean Viking, the last humanitarian ship among 4 that was stuck in the Mediterranean and raised tension between France and Italy.

"The situation on board the ship has reached a sensitive level and needs an urgent solution to avoid a human tragedy," the UNHCR said in a statement.

She recalled that "the legal duty to save lives at sea is clear and unequivocal, whatever the circumstances that led people to distress," calling on "member states" to "work together to find a common response."