
France said on Thursday it would allow an NGO ship carrying more than 200 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean to dock at the port of Toulon, while harshly criticising Italy for not taking the boat in.
Immigration is a hot-button issue in both countries, and French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said the right-wing Italian government's ban on the charity vessel, which had been stuck off Sicily for days, was "reprehensible" and "selfish".