NEW DELHI (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, French President Francois Hollande said that France remained committed to receive some 30,000 refugees during the next two years as part of the EU mandatory quota system to relocate 160,000 refugees residing in Italy, Greece and Hungary among the bloc's member states.
"We have open our arms to [refugees] for the good reasons as they were fleeing the dictatorship and terrorism. So in that sense they are on the same side and we will continue to welcome them," Richier said.
He added that Paris knew that there was a risk that among the refugees there were some people affiliated with the Islamic State jihadist group, "some cases are already identified."
The French officials' statements come five days after a series of suicide bombings and shooting attacks across Paris on Friday that left 129 dead and over 350 injured. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Greek and Serbian officials said that a Syrian passport recovered near the body of one of the November 13 suicide bombers was registered last month as belonging to an asylum seeker. The passport, thought to be forged, has reignited fear among some Europeans that extremists are hiding among the hundreds of thousands migrants who had arrived to Europe this year.
