"Police are at the scene carrying out arrests. SOS Mediterranee staffers are safe and sound but in a state of shock," the aid agency tweeted.
The charity said the activists belonged to the Identitarian movement (Les Identitaires), which opposes France’s so-called Islamization and uncontrolled immigration.
Génération Identitaire activists peacefully occupied a building owned by the Pro-Migrant NGO SOS Méditerranée in the city of #Marseille. They unfurled a banner which states, "SOS Méditerranée is complicit in trafficking human lives". #GenerationIdentity #OccupSOSmed pic.twitter.com/3q9LQtSI5M
— Generation Identity (@GID_UKIRE) October 5, 2018
The agency has been at the heart of a dispute over the Aquarius, a ship it hired together with Doctors Without Borders to rescue African migrants stranded at sea while trying to reach Europe.
🔴URGENT Le siège de @SOSMedFrance à #Marseille a été attaqué ce vendredi par une dizaine de militants identitaires. La police est sur place et procède à des arrestations. Le personnel de @SOSMedFrance est sain et sauf, mais sous le choc.
— SOS MEDITERRANEE France (@SOSMedFrance) October 5, 2018
In June, the vessel, which had over 600 migrants on board at the time, was denied entry by Italian and Maltese ports. Spain eventually allowed the Aquarius to dock and the migrants were accommodated by several EU countries.
