The objective of this trip is to “discuss with my counterparts from the Ministry of the Interior and with the intelligence services, exchange views for more information,” said Gerald Darmanin. “The President of the Republic had his counterparts to be able to agree on the dismissal of a certain number of people who have the nationality of these countries and who are confused with radicalization in our country,” he said. added. “We have expelled sixteen people mistaken for radicalization,” a month ago, he said. “This does not mean condemned.
We consider that they are radicalized and that they are foreign to our country, ”continued Gérald Darmanin. “I asked the prefects to place all illegal foreigners confused with radicalization in the CRAs,” the administrative detention centers, added the Minister.
Today, they are “a hundred,” he said, adding that discussions were underway with the authorities of their countries with a view to their removal. And to clarify that for three years, 458 foreigners registered S who have been expelled, four times more than in previous years. “Do not pretend that by pointing fingers at foreigners … we are protecting the country.” At the microphone of Jean-Jacques Bourdin, Gérald Darmanin reiterated that “we are at war against terrorism.”
And to clarify: “I would like to tell the French that terrorists take many forms and do not listen to all the prophets of doom who explain to you that all foreigners are necessarily all terrorists and by closing our country to everything, then we would protect this country. This is not true. ” On the borders which “will be more controlled,” “I made proposals to the President of the Republic and to the Prime Minister during the last Defense Council (last Friday, editor’s note).”
And to insist: “Do not make-believe that by pointing fingers at foreigners like the extreme right do, we protect the country …” “There is nothing to see nationality or skin color in terrorism. What there is to do with terrorism is the Islamist ideology, it is it that we must fight ”, specified the minister, adding that in the profiles of terrorists,“ there are converts, there are foreigners, people of recent date, people who have resident cards ”…“ It is not only a question of fighting against those who have knives or pistols but also against those who turn the tables. head of the people, what are called Islamist pharmacies ”. Gérald Darmanin has also announced that he would go “in the next few days” to Russia to discuss these questions.
For its part, the Elysee Palace announced Sunday evening that Emmanuel Macron asked the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, to go to Tunis to discuss the fight against terrorism. “The President asked the Minister of the Interior to go to Tunisia next week for a meeting with his counterpart,” said the French presidency.
The decision was announced after a telephone interview on Saturday between the French president and his Tunisian counterpart, Kaïs Saïed, who “expressed his solidarity with France after the terrorist acts,” the Presidency said. The two leaders “agreed to strengthen Franco-Tunisian cooperation” in the fight against terrorism. They notably “addressed the sensitive issue of Tunisians’ return with the obligation to leave French territory (OQTF), in priority, that listed S,” added the Elysee.
On Saturday evening, the Tunisian presidency indicated that Presidents Macron and Saied had also discussed “the issue of illegal migration and solutions to be found together to deal with this phenomenon, which is worsening.” Brahim Issaoui, the alleged perpetrator of the attack which killed three people in the Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption basilica in Nice, is a 21-year-old Tunisian who arrived illegally in Europe via the Italian island of Lampedusa on September 20.
He joined France the day before the attack, according to a source close to the investigation. On Saturday, Tunisian head of government Hichem Mechichi called on his interior and justice ministers to cooperate with the French authorities in the investigation altogether.
