France, Italy meet on terror, migration, border control

The Interior Ministers of Italy and France met in Rome Friday to discuss issues of terrorism, migration and border control, one week after a Tunisian man travelled through Italy to France and killed three people in Nice.

Speaking to reporters following their meeting, the ministers emphasised French-Italian cooperation and solidarity on fighting terrorism.

Gerald Darmanin told reporters that the French government does not believe there was a fault in the Italian system that allowed the young Tunisian free to move through Italy before crossing the border to carry out his attack in at the cathedral in Nice.

Darmanin stated that among the last 30 suspects who carried out recent attacks in France, 22 were French citizens.

"I do not agree with people who think the handling of the European frontiers is sufficient to avoid Islamic terrorism danger," Darmanin said.

Italy's Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese said the two nations were considering deploying sea or air craft to alert Tunisia to the departure of clandestine boats ferrying migrants north to the Italian shore.

Lamorgese said she and Darmanin discussed a plan that would involve deploying "naval or air assets that could alert the Tunisian authorities to eventual departures "and help them intercept the boats, without violating their autonomy.