France to tighten up on illegal migrants after knife attack

PARIS – France’s interior minister wants tougher action on detaining and deporting illegal migrants, after a Tunisian migrant fatally stabbed two women at a Marseille train station in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

Authorities say the attacker was picked up for shoplifting then released the day before last week’s stabbing, because there was not enough space in retention centres for illegal migrants. An internal government report released Tuesday found “a collection of serious malfunctions” in handling his case.

As a result, Interior Minister Gerard Collomb says he has ordered more staff assigned to handling such cases and more places in retention centres.

He also has announced drastic leadership changes for the Lyon region where the arrest occurred, and tougher measures to identify illegal migrants who provide fake identities.