Most French find Macron's migration policy too soft: survey

PARIS - Two French out of three think the government is too soft in handling migration flows and asylum applications as the migration crisis in Europe increasingly defines the continent's politics, a survey said on Thursday.

An Elabe poll for BFMTV news channel found 61 percent of the respondents said French President Emmanuel Macron's executive team was lax on the migration issue, down 5 percentage points compared to January's figures.

Less than a third thought the policy was fair, up by 2 percentage points.

The government's migration measures failed to satisfy far-rightists and conservatives, with 88 percent of Marine Le Pen's supporters and 76 percent of the Republican Party's followers opposed to the "too lax" policy.

In the ruling camp and the hard left wing, opinions were more divided.

Asked whether France should have taken in the Aquarius rescue ship with over 600 migrants on board, 64 percent of the 1,001 people interviewed said they approved of the authorities' decision not to let it dock.

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, however, said last week that France was ready to help Spain to take in the migrants who were stranded on the ship after both Italy and Malta refused to receive them.

"We are obviously ready to help the Spanish authorities to welcome and analyze the situation of those on this boat who may wish to benefit from refugee status," Philippe said. "France will not abdicate its international obligations in this regard."