One of the most dishonest arguments one hears against a border fence is that it "won't work." But when people actually want to protect something, they build a fence.
Case in point, the fiercely Establishmentarian government of Emmanuel Macron is going to build a border fence. Not to protect against "migrants" of course, as there as there is nothing that can be done against that. After all, France is currently opposing the Italian government's efforts to stop immigration.
French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe urged far-right Italian leader Matteo Salvini on Monday to drop his "posturing" on immigration and help find a European response to the issue.
Salvini, Italy's powerful interior minister and deputy premier, has singled out French President Emmanuel Macron for criticism in recent weeks, as well as other EU leaders he considers too soft on immigration.
Philippe promised to be "direct" in his conversation with the 45-year-old Italian, head of the far-right League party, over dinner on Monday night in the French city of Lyon where the two men, along with ministers from Britain, Germany, Spain, Poland and Morocco, met for talks on immigration.
"I rarely use the same words or the same vocabulary (as Salvini) but that doesn't stop me being direct as well. I hope we'll have a frank and direct exchange," Philippe said.
"Beyond the posturing, the issue of immigration cannot be solved with a national response. It requires coordination. It's a complex issue of common interest.
[France tells Italy to stop 'posturing' on immigration and find a solution, by Ben McPartland, The Local, October 9, 2018]
But to protect against swine flu, national governments can act unilaterally.
France will start putting up fencing along part of its border with Belgium this weekend to prevent wild boars spreading African swine fever, a virulent livestock disease that could disrupt Europe's large pig industry.
France has been on alert for African swine fever since Belgium detected the virus last month among wild boars a few kilometers from the French border.
Belgium decided to slaughter several thousand pigs in its contaminated zone to prevent the virus reaching farm herds, but it is already facing embargos on its pork exports from countries like South Korea and China, which is also grappling with an outbreak of the disease.
French authorities have banned hunting and other activities in a border zone and the prefecture in the Meurthe-et-Moselle region will start installing fencing on Saturday, a prefecture official and a hunting association said on Friday.
The fencing would cover part of the border and be supported by repellent products on roads and other locations that could not be fenced off, Patrick Massenet, head of the hunting federation of Meurthe-et-Moselle, said.
It was expected to take about a week to install the fencing, he added.
[Fearful of swine fever, France plans fence on Belgian border, Reuters, October 12, 2018]
Got that everyone? You can't prevent people from crossing borders. But obviously you can prevent microbes from doing it.
It's amazing how quickly a national government can act when it actually wants to.
