France pledged to give nearly 26 million euros in aid to Tunisia to help curb the flow of migrants crossing the Mediterranean.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin announced on Monday the "bilateral aid of 25.8 million dedicated to tackling migration issues" during a visit to Tunis.
A nos amis tunisiens, j’ai redit la volonté de la France de renforcer notre coopération en matière de sécurité et de lutte contre l’immigration irrégulière. A ce titre, la France mobilisera 25,8 millions € supplémentaires pour renforcer leurs équipements, la formation de leurs… pic.twitter.com/UgK82VZi9L
— Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) June 19, 2023
The aim is to allow Tunisia to "acquire the necessary equipment and organise useful training, in particular for Tunisian police and border guards", he said at a news conference following a meeting in Tunisia with his German counterpart, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser.
The French pledge comes a week after European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen offered 105 million euros to Tunisia for border management and combatting human trafficking.
The EU funding, part of a larger financial aid package to boost the Tunisian economy, is contingent on the approval of the nearly $2 billion IMF loan that has been under negotiation since last year.
No border guard
Yet, in response, Tunisian President Kais Saied warned that Tunisia would not guard borders other than its own.
"We will not accept that Tunisia becomes a country of resettlement" for migrants either, he said.
Saied has repeatedly rejected what he terms the "diktats" of the West.
On Tuesday, Mohsen Nabti, a Tunisian politician supporting the President, blamed France and Europe for the migrants issue, speaking on the Tunisian radio Mosaïque FM.
“Did we colonise Mali?" he asked ironically. "Did we send troops to Niger? Did we occupy Burkina-Faso? Did we foment the coups in Chad? Or was that the French and the European Union? These countries reap what they sow," he concluded.
The Tunisian President says he remains open to a better deal with the EU, however.
"With a common will, a new way of seeing things, I am sure that we will find adequate solutions," he said on Monday.
Other Tunisian politicians have recognised that a deal with the EU will be necessary.
