French government hardens immigration stance as elections loom

[pampango]

http://www.france24.com/en/20111130-french-government-immigration-elections-sarkozy-paris-visa-assylum-le-pen-gueant%20

France’s ruling conservative UMP party is toughening its stance on immigration ahead of next year’s elections. By straying into the territory of the far right National Front, it is playing a risky game.

As he presented his party’s campaign platform ahead of next year’s presidential and legislative elections, French Interior Minister Claude Gueant laid down the gauntlet to the far right by hardening the government’s position on immigration.

“It’s easier for immigrants to integrate if there are less of them,” Gueant told Europe 1 radio. “It’s obvious that we need to better manage the flow of immigrants. For immigration to work, we need to be welcoming fewer immigrants each year.”

The statement echoed the priority given to immigration issues during French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s successful 2007 election campaign. But it also rekindled accusations that the UMP, France’s ruling party, is trying to steal a march on France’s far-right National Front (FN) by playing the anti-immigration card.