In Calais, Yannick Jadot reaffirms that “immigration is not a problem”
The environmental candidate for the presidency came to Calais on Friday to pay tribute to the migrants who died in the sinking of their canoe.
“We are not many to say today that immigration is not a problem”: the environmental candidate for the presidency Yannick Jadot came to Calais on Friday to pay tribute to the migrants who died in the sinking of their canoe. The MEP had already upset his program for the day, in Hauts-de-France, by including a morning visit to striking Leroy-Merlin employees who demand a salary increase, proof that the candidate is seeking to occupy the field social and a central place in a dispersed left. The sinking, which killed at least 27 people, and the migration issue have further changed his plans, and the sequence reserved for a company doing reintegration has paid the price, in favor of a visit to Calais.
“We are all totally flabbergasted by the drama that has taken place here”
After having risen in front of the ardent chapel erected in the Saint-Pierre church, Yannick Jadot went to throw a bouquet of flowers in the English Channel, not far from the shipwreck on Wednesday. “We are all totally stunned by the drama that has unfolded our hair here,” he whispered in front of a handful of journalists, the messy ones by the wind. “France has agreed to subcontract the issue of refugees against a few dozen millions of euros, it is shameful for France to be reduced to this police operation financed by Great Britain “, thundered the ecologist in reference to the Touquet agreements which fix the border between the two countries on the French coasts.
He then met several officials of associations helping the hundreds of migrants who survive on the Opal Coast while waiting to attempt a perilous crossing. “We made a commemoration, but it’s difficult not to say” see you next week “, because of the daily risks they run, testified a representative of Médecins du Monde. She described “police harassment” which, according to her and other associations, consisted in tearing up tents and taking migrants’ personal effects, or even putting rocks to block humanitarian distributions. “On a tried everything except the reception”. In response, Yannick Jadot gave the example of the former mayor of Grande-Synthe, Damien Carême, one of the supporters of his campaign, who had obtained from the State to set up an official reception camp during his mandate.
“Pictures can sometimes be scary”
The candidate said he understood the fear of immigration felt by part of the French. “The images can sometimes be scary. But when you know the backgrounds of these people, you can only say to yourself: ‘Obviously we must help'”. After joining him to meet migrants, and not only associations, during a next visit, the head of Catholic Relief Juliette Delaplace called out to him: “We fear the outbidding of politicians, of which migrants are the toys. I address myself to the candidate, there is a stake in keeping a line of values ”.
Yannick Jadot then did not pray to know about his competitors: “We are not many to say today that immigration is not a problem and that we must welcome at the level of Europe “. “There is a lot of shyness,” said his spokesperson Marine Tondelier. “Including in the progress camp!” Exclaimed Yannick Jadot.
The ecologist is convinced of having scored points with the electorate of the left, a few days ago, by clearly defending the reception of migrants stranded at the Belarusian border, while the rebellious Jean-Luc Mélenchon was initially focused on development aid to countries of origin before asking for the opening of “humanitarian corridors to England” Thursday. The visit to the striking Leroy Merlin employees in the morning near Hénin-Beaumont, before he promised to force each professional branch to renegotiate upwards of wages, was another proof that Yannick Jadot’s campaign does not spare its nods to the left camp, unlike the strategy adopted in the 2019 European elections.
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