France challenges Italy with border checks

"The rules of the Schengen club are premised on all countries behaving in a way that takes into account the effect of their actions on their neighbours,” says Hugo Brady, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform think-tank. "When that stops happening – as we saw in this latest episode – the response from other member states will be to push for tighter borders." Despite the distrust between EU governments, however, Mr Brady argued that the closer monitoring did not mean the end to passport-free travel for most Europeans. Even last week in south-eastern France, most French and Italian passengers were able to travel unmolested. Those who appeared to be north African youths, however, face a more uncertain future.