French prime minister Manuel Valls claimed last week that refugees coming into Europe were threatening “the very idea of Europe”.
Valls said that if Europe did not control its borders “our societies will be totally destabilised”.
The racist comments conjured up an image of Europe being overrun by threatening foreigners. Valls referred to sexual assaults in Cologne, Germany, on New Year’s Eve that have been attributed to migrants.
He said, “We know clearly that after the Cologne incidents that with the continuous flow—not only to Germany but the countries of Northern Europe, Austria, the Balkans—that we are confronted with this influx, that’s why we need to find practical solutions for our borders.”
Governments across Europe have for months refused to help hundreds of thousands of desperate refugees.
Anger at refugees’ plight has pressured them to act.
The Tories face demands from charities and others to allow unaccompanied Syrian refugee children into Britain.
Yet David Cameron has said he won’t make a statement on the issue until next month at the earliest.
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