Sarkozy says immigration could cause 'social explosion' 02/04/2007 00:00

PARIS, April 2, 2007 (AFP) - Right-wing presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy warned Monday of a social explosion unless immigration to France is brought under control.

"There is a certain exasperation in France. And why? Because of the way national identity is disputed, because of the lack of control over immigration, because of fraud, because of waste," he told a news conference.

"Who cannot see that that there is a clear link between a policy of uncontrolled immigration over 30 or 40 years and the social explosion in our poor neighbourhoods. It's blindingly obvious that there is a link," he said.

"If one cannot even say that in the poor neighbourhoods there is a population that recently became French and that the size of this population has created problems of integration which mean that our republican pact threatens to explode -- if one cannot even say that, there is no chance of solving the problem.

"Controlling immigration is a prerequisite for safeguarding our social pact. Otherwise it will explode. We need to control immigration, dry up its source, in order to be able to integrate those who are here," he said.

Sarkozy, 52, who is favourite in the polls ahead of the first-round vote on April 22, has triggered an angry reaction on the left with his call for a ministry of "immigration and national identity".

Copyright AFP

Subject: French news