Brussels, 29/06/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 27 June, the Administrative Court of Paris condemned the French state to pay €1,500 to a 25-year-old Tunisian man whom the French authorities wanted to expel from the country, even though he had proper papers allowing him to stay in France, reports AFP, quoting the man's lawyer. The court also cancelled the removal order against the young man, who arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa in February, and ordered the French Préfecture de Police to issue him with a temporary French residence permit. The Préfecture intends to appeal against this decision.
Upon his arrival in Italy, the Tunisian man obtained a “humanitarian” residence permit from the Italian authorities, “valid in the Schengen area for six months”, and went to France, the lawyer explained. But he was arrested following checks and the Paris police, which considered that the document was not enough to allow him to remain in France, notified him that he was to be removed to the border. However, the court found that he was not in an irregular situation and that he was in possession of the documents required: he could also prove that he had the daily financial resources required by French law.
The arrival of more than 25,000 Tunisian migrants on Lampedusa earlier this year, following the collapse of the Ben Ali regime, has sparked a huge row between Rome and Paris.
Rome, which feels abandoned in its responsibility for taking charge of these thousands of people, decided by decree to issue them with residence permits and temporary travel documents; France responded by stepping up its police controls in its border regions and issued a circular to all police préfectures informing them of the conditions to be fulfilled by the Tunisian migrants in order to be able to remain in France. These two procedures triggered requests for clarification in writing from the European Commission, which has not launched any further procedures so far. (S.P./transl.fl)