PARIS, Mar 12: President Nicolas Sarkozy threatened in a key re-election campaign rally today to pull France out of Europe’s 25-nation visa free zone unless the EU toughens its immigration policy.
Sarkozy, who this week said France had too many foreigners, made the threat at a mass meeting which he hopes will turn the tide against front-running Socialist Francois Hollande with just 42 days to go before election day.
The so-called Schengen passport-free zone must urgently be overhauled to fight the flow of illegal immigration, said the right-wing leader, returning to a constant theme in his bid for five more years at the Elysee palace.
To chants of “Nicolas, president!” from the tens of thousands in the flag-waving audience, Sarkozy said unchecked immigration would put extra strain on social safety nets for Europe’s poorest.
“In the coming 12 months, (if) there is no serious progress towards this (reforming Schengen), France would then suspend its participation in the Schengen accords until negotiations conclude,” he declared.
The Schengen area is home to 400 million Europeans who can cross borders without a passport. Once inside the area, illegal immigrants can theoretically move freely between the participating states.
Sarkozy’s UMP party chartered TGV high-speed trains and fleets of buses to ferry supporters from across France for the rally in a cavernous exhibition hall in Villepinte, near Paris Charles de Gaulle airport.
Sarkozy told them he also wanted the EU to introduce a “Buy European Act” based on a US measure that obliges the state to use domestically-produced products in public contracts. (Agencies)
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