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.

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