Valérie Pécresse in Greece praises the country’s “remarkable” model on the issue of migrants

Forgotten, the slum in which up to 9,000 migrants have piled up. The Greek authorities welcome Valérie Pécresse in a new structure, made up of prefabricated buildings. The Les Républicains candidate for the presidential election is traveling to Greece to establish her international stature. For this, she visited the migrant camp on the island of Samos, a model in this area. Opened in September, this “multipurpose reception and identification center” – according to its official name – covers 12,000 m². White prefabs are lined up there as far as the eye can see, all surrounded by gates and barbed wire.

Here, we sleep in bunk beds, there are toilets and a kitchen area. Asylum seekers themselves point this out: the reception conditions are much better than in the old camp, an unsanitary shantytown invaded by rats and insects. “In terms of housing and health security, it’s really very good, testifies a Congolese. But there are still things that we deplore, like the fact that people don’t really have access to the outside.”

And indeed, only asylum seekers awaiting a response have the right to go out, but only between 8 am and 8 pm. “I can’t go out as I want to go to town, I feel like my soul is dying waiting here” says a Syrian in this situation. But some cannot get out at all: these are people whose asylum applications have been rejected twice or migrants who have just arrived.

“Here, it’s like Guantanamo but we are not terrorists. They don’t treat us like humans but like animals, I want freedom, I have a future!”

A Somali arrived at Samos camp

Cameras, drones and watchtowers allow remote surveillance by police and guards. Alcohol and weapons are prohibited in the camp, to limit the risk of violence. And to get in, you need a badge, present your fingerprints and go through a gate.

“It’s still quite remarkable, Judge Valérie Pécresse. The NGOs come in, there are schools for the children, very high security, a real welcoming comfort… And at the same time, there is real firmness. If you don’t have the right to be there, you go back to your country.”

Camps like this should be built in all southern European countries, says presidential candidate LR, who also wants to help countries better control their land and sea borders. For this, it wishes to strengthen the Frontex organization.

Valérie Pécresse already imagines being the engine of this change if she is elected president. If so, she will also have to preside over the Council of the European Union for two months.