Thread: France's expulsions of immigrants rise in 2011

krmg.com
The Associated Press
Updated: 4:32 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012

PARIS —

France's interior minister says this country sent home 17.5 percent more illegal immigrants last year than the year before.

The new figures were released amid campaigning for France's presidential elections during which candidates on the right have sought to take a tough stance against illegal immigration.

Interior Minister Claude Gueant said Tuesday that French authorities expelled 32,912 illegal immigrants in 2011, up 17.5 percent from 2010.

France draws in much larger numbers of legal immigrants, though the number of residency permits issued last year shrank 3.6 percent to 182,595, Gueant said.

Conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy, expected to seek re-election in April, has championed strict policies on crime and illegal immigrants.

http://www.krmg.com/ap/ap/social-iss...in-2011/nGJy2/

canada.com
Agence France-Presse
January 10, 2012 8:09 AM


French Interior Minister Claude Gueant speaks to journalists after delivering a speech about figures of 2011 immigration to France at his ministry on January 10, 2012 in Paris. Gueant has announced he wants to go back to 150,000 entries of foreigners living legally in France, as in the 1990s.

PARIS - French Interior Minister Claude Gueant boasted on January 10, 2012 that the country expelled a record number of illegal immigrants last year and vowed to significantly reduce legal immigration.

The announcement came three months ahead of a presidential election in which far-right candidate Marine Le Pen of the National Front is expected to target President Nicolas Sarkozy's immigration policies.

Gueant, a close ally of Sarkozy and well-known hardliner on immigration, said France had expelled 32,922 illegal immigrants last year, up from 28,026 in 2010.

"This is the highest level ever attained," he said during a press conference, adding that France would seek to expell 35,000 illegal immigrants this year.

Gueant also said the number of legal immigrants allowed into the country had dropped to 182,595 last year, down from 189,455 in 2010.

Describing current immigration figures as a "migration policy out of control," he said he hoped to reduce the number of legal immigrants to 150,000 per year - a level not seen since the 1990s.

Gueant has repeatedly linked immigration with crime in France and on Tuesday said the delinquency rate among immigrants was "two to three times higher" than the national average.

http://www.canada.com/news/France+ex...966/story.html

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