Around noon on Monday, the nearly 240 people of Moldovan and Romanian nationality, who left Paris to return home, but were trapped in the Bas-Rhin because they had been refused the crossing of the Rhine, were finally able to cross the border German at Roppenheim (Bas-Rhin). Leaving around 10 a.m. from the Brumath motorway service area (Bas-Rhin) where they had been stuck since Sunday morning, the three coaches were able to cross the border at Iffezheim.
Their three coaches had left Paris on Saturday April 25 around 4 a.m. The passengers, mainly workers of Moldovan nationality, but also Romanian, some accompanied by their families, wanted to go home. Because unemployed since the start of confinement, they had been waiting for a return opportunity for weeks.
They told France 3 Alsace that they arrived at 3 p.m. on Saturday at the German border, near Iffezheim (Baden-Württemberg). But Germany did not allow them to enter its territory, a refusal evidenced by a document which was given to them by the Iffezheim police.
“They checked all the papers, and we stayed there”, says one of the travelers. Stuck at the German border, the 240 people had to spend their first night in their coaches, waiting. “And then, at 6 am, they told us that we couldn’t go. It is forbidden because it’s quarantine.” Thus, Sunday from 6 am, the three coaches took the road to stop about thirty kilometers further south, on the highway area of Brumath. The gendarmes of the Schwindratzheim motorized platoon quickly arrived on site to secure the premises. The vast majority of these travelers did not wear a mask, and 240 in three vehicles, often with children on their knees, any social distancing was impossible for them.
Travelers therefore spent a second night in their coaches, without knowing what would become of them. At the gas station shop, they found something to eat, as well as baby food and diapers. And the showers and toilets remained open all night.
This Monday morning April 27, the spokesperson for the German police of Offenburg, Dieter Hutt, confirmed to France 3 Alsace that this refoulement was due to two reasons. The first is that after crossing Germany, the buses had to go to Prague first. However, with the pandemic, the Czech Republic only allows entry to its territory to its own nationals, or to foreigners who have resided there for a long time, but transit is no longer possible. The second reason is that among travelers of Moldovan origin, many were unable to present a valid Schengen visa.
To resolve the situation, it took diplomatic discussions between France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Moldova and Romania … Hence this long waiting time.
The travelers had spent 200 euros per adult person and 100 euros per child for this trip. On Sunday, the Moldovan coach operator, whom they had reached by telephone to explain the situation to him, had refused to hear anything. But according to Dieter Hutt, the German police have seized all the cash that travelers have paid to the bus company, because the latter is now being prosecuted by the Baden-Baden prosecution – the Staatsanwaltschaft – for trying to bring in people in Germany without permission. For their part, the drivers are being prosecuted for assistance with illegal entry into Germany. If the prosecution does not accept these reasons, the money (it would be question of 16,000 euros by bus) would be returned.
This Monday, April 27, after crossing the German border, the three coaches will finally be able to make the route initially planned: Prague, then, as the case may be, Romania or Moldova.
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