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Too many foreigners in France - Sarkozy
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said there are too many foreigners in France and has pledged to cut the number of new arrivals in half.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy intends to cut integration of foreigners to France by half from 180,000 per year to 100,000 per year
During a TV debate, Sarkozy insisted France's attempts to integrate foreign arrivals into its culture and society had become paralysed, as France was no longer capable of providing accommodation, jobs and education for foreigners. The solution of which is to halve integration of foreigners from 180,000 a year to 100,000 a year.
Sarkozy also announced new plans to limit some welfare benefit payments currently available to immigrant workers to those who have enjoyed residency for 10 years and have worked for five of those.
Sarkozy has been accused of moving to the right in the run up to the presidential election in order to recruit voters tempted by anti-immigrant candidate Marine Le Pen.
He said that while immigration could remain "a boon" for France in many areas, it must be controlled more tightly through tougher residency qualifications for newcomers.
France will vote in the first round of a presidential election on 22 April, followed by a second-round run-off on 6 May.
All recent opinion polls forecast that Francois Hollande will emerge victorious.
