Ferry Carrying 800 Moroccan Expatriates Denied Entry at French Port, Diverted to Italy

Leaving Nador at midnight on Friday, the GNV ferry was supposed to dock at the port of Sète on Sunday, October 11 at 11 a.m. But, contrary to all expectations, the ship was not authorized to dock at the Sète port. "This Saturday at 6 p.m., the captain informed us by loudspeaker that the port of Sète is refusing the ferry to dock and that we will be diverted to the port of Genoa. But the passengers prefer to return to Nador, rather than disembark in Italy. Most of them live in France," said M. Mohamed Rahmoun, CEO of New Century film, who is on board the ferry, to Atlasinfo.

On board the ferry, anger is rising. Some had important commitments to fulfill after the trip. Others are outraged by this ban without valid reasons, given that all passengers tested negative. "The situation is not good at all. I have in front of me a very elderly person who lives in France. He slipped on the stairs and hurt his back. A woman living in Montpellier was supposed to see her doctor on Monday morning. She no longer has her treatment for a blocked artery in her head," the CEO of New Century film was exasperated. "How can we refuse Franco-Moroccans to join their homes and families?" he wondered.

Instead of a good explanation of this situation, passengers only have rumors. "Some say that members of the crew would be positive for Covid-19. Others say it is the prefecture of Hérault that refused to let us disembark, because the health situation in the department is alarming. But this remains a rumor," said the actor-producer M. Rahmoun, contacted by the same source.