Aquarius not ready to dock, disembark migrants at Marseille port: France

France is not ready for now to allow the Mediterranean rescue ship Aquarius to dock and disembark dozens of migrants at the port of Marseille, France's finance minister said on Tuesday.

"For the moment it's 'no'," Bruno Le Maire said when asked during an interview on BFM news TV channel if Paris was ready to respond positively to a request from charities for permission to do with 58 people aboard in the southern French port.

Ships were supposed to get docking access at the nearest port under European rules, said Le Maire, adding that Marseille was not the nearest. (Reporting by Brian Love Editing by Geert De Clercq)