France stopped trains from Italy

France has suspended international rail links with Italy. Trains from Italy cannot get to France because French authorities had unilaterally closed the railroad near the Ventimiglia station. In such manner French authorities intend to obstruct the flow of the African refugees, who have rushed en masse to Europe after the recent events that took place in Tunisia, Egypt and several other North African countries.

The decision to terminate rail links, as noted by Reuters, was taken by the authorities bordering with Italy Alpes-Maritimes department.
According to the representatives of the French Foreign Ministry, connection with Italy is suspended temporarily for security reasons. Italian news agency ANSA said that termination of the links was caused by the mass demonstrations in Ventimiglia.

Ventimiglia is a resort town in the province of Liguria at the border with the famous Côte d'Azur, today became popular because of the numerous protests of the French and Italian activists campaigning for the rights and freedoms of refugees.

In turn, Italian Foreign Ministry sent a protest note to the French diplomats, where accused the authorities of the Republic of undermining the pillars of the European Union. Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni in an interview to the Italian TV called the actions of the French "incomprehensible" and "unfair."

In early April, France and Italy have agreed to jointly patrol the Mediterranean near the border with Tunisia, in order to prevent massive flow of immigrants from North Africa. Currently, refugees in Italy are given temporary permits to travel around Europe for 6 months.

The current situation, which, according to the Italian authorities, is completely unacceptable, is expected to become one of the themes of the forthcoming summit of the EU countries, which will be held on April 26.