PARIS: France says it intends to create 11,000 more places in centers for asylum seekers and housing for refugees as part of a plan to help deal with the flow of thousands of migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea.

Around 100,000 migrants have entered Europe so far this year, while on the French-Italian border, riot police forcibly removed dozens of migrants.

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve says the ambition of his plan is “to provide long-term solutions.”

He said Wednesday that France will open 4,000 more places in centers for asylum seekers by next year and another 5,500 places to house refugees who were granted legal status in France.

In addition, 1,500 new emergency places will be created as temporary housing solution for illegal migrants.

In the Vatican City, Pope Francis on Wednesday called for respect for migrants and suggested that “people and institutions” who close doors to them should seek forgiveness from God.

The pope’s appeal, made at the end of his weekly general audience, came amid growing debate in Europe on how to deal with an immigrant crisis that has included clashes at the French-Italian borer between police and migrants.

“I invite you all to ask forgiveness for the persons and the institutions who close the door to these people who are seeking a family, who are seeking to be protected,” he said in unscripted remarks delivered in a somber voice.

France and Austria have stepped up border controls on migrants coming from Italy, turning back hundreds and leaving growing numbers camped out in train stations in Rome and Milan.

In a sign of persisting discord over how to deal with the migrant crisis, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi threatened retaliation if other EU countries did not agree to take their fair share of refugees that land on Italy’s shores.

Meanwhile,the Hungarian government is considering building a 4-meter-high fence along the border with Serbia to stop the flow of migrants reaching the country, the foreign minister said Wednesday.

The government has asked Interior Minister Sandor Pinter to present preparations for the plan by next Wednesday.

“The pressure of migration which presents serious difficulties for Europe affects Hungary the most among EU member countries,” Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said. “Hungary cannot allow itself to wait any longer. Naturally, we hope there will be a joint European solution.”

Szijjarto said the fence along the 175-kilometer (109-mile) southern border with Serbia wouldn’t contravene any of Hungary’s international legal obligations. He said that the governments of Hungary and Serbia would hold a summit on July 1, when “we will inform our Serb friends ... in detail of the Hungarian measures.”

The foreign minister also said that, in line with a bill presented last week by lawmakers from the governing Fidesz party, the government was taking legal preliminary steps to designate all EU member and candidate countries as safe countries.

This step would allow Hungary, for example, from having to receive asylum seekers coming from Serbia or Greece, countries not considered by the EU to have the infrastructure necessary to guarantee their safety.