PARIS, July 12 (Xinhua) -- France welcomed on Thursday 78 migrants who were on board of Aquarius rescue ship that sparked a dispute between Paris and Rome last month, French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb announced on Thursday.
Arrived from Valencia, Spain, the migrants, most of them from Eritrea and Sudan, will be sent to several centres in French cities and will benefit from language training as part of the country's integration plan.
"This operation...illustrates once again the balanced policy implemented by France to accommodate refugees while acting against illegal economic immigration," Collomb said.
Ways to relocate migrants and share refugees have fuelled tension between France and Italy recently after anti-migration Italian cabinet refused to let stranded migrants ship dock.
The row on migrants' relocation had forced European leaders to call an emergency meeting on migration and asylum issues in June in Brussels where they agreed to set up so-called "controlled centers" to host and transfer migrants that landed on EU shores.
