Traffic on the E80 corridor between Italy and France ground to a crawl on Sunday evening after Italian and French police erected roadblocks at the Ponte San Ludovico crossing near Ventimiglia. The operation was a response to a small but highly publicised demonstration by pro-migrant activists who pledged to “cross Schengen” without checks to demand an EU-wide residence permit. French gendarmes deployed armoured vehicles, while Italian officers redirected cars to the parallel Ponte San Luigi checkpoint, creating a kilometre-long tailback that only eased when traffic was rerouted. Although only a few dozen protesters arrived, authorities maintained a show of force, reflecting heightened sensitivity on cross-border movements after several recent human-smuggling arrests in the Ligurian border zone. For commuters and supply-chain operators, the episode is a reminder that the Ventimiglia node—vital for just-in-time deliveries between the Italian Riviera and Côte d’Azur—can experience sudden slow-downs when security alerts are raised. Logistic planners should monitor the Prefecture of Imperia’s Telegram channel, which now issues real-time crossing-status bulletins. From a policy angle the demonstration foreshadows larger rallies scheduled for today, 20 July, where NGOs will call for an “EU residence permit for all”. Any escalation could prompt France to re-activate temporary border checks, legally permissible under Schengen rules for up to 30 days, directly affecting business-traveller transit between Nice and Milan.
Source: La Sicilia
