France welcomes more refugees amid tough control

Paris, Jan 23 : France is to open its doors to more refugees coming notably from Syria as part of the “solidarity quota” agreed by the European countries, the media reported.

At least 43 asylum seekers, 32 Syrians, eight Iraqis and three Eritreans, coming from Greece, are to arrive in France on January 25, Xinhua reported.

After one of the November 13 attackers was believed to have slipped into Europe among migrants registered in Greece, police in Athens and French intelligence services began intensively checking the identity of each refugee, the report added.

“We cannot say or accept that all refugees, anyone fleeing war in Syria and Iraq, can be welcomed in Europe,” French Prime Minister Manuel Valls told BBC.

With 2,000 refugees trying to reach European borders every day, Valls warned the rampant number of asylum seekers would destabilize the European Union.

France pledges to take in 30,000 refugees over the next two years.

 

—IANS