On the campaign trail, French presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy has been extolling his main virtue as he sways voters to his side. His claim to fame? He's driven out more immigrants than anyone before him.
Numbers don't lie, and the current interior minister claims to have reduced the number of asylum seekers by over 5,000. As for those trying to sneak across the border, his department turned back 33,000 people, and that's a lot of folks learning that there's no room. Add to that the people who were paid to leave, and Monsieur Sarkozy lays claim to 59,000 foreigners deported from La Belle France.
It's a strong talking point in France, where the general population believes that there are too many non-French cluttering the country. If elected, Mr. Sarkozy plans to charter a fleet of airplanes and deport even more, to clean up the seething banlieues by kicking out those without express permission to live in France. No mention of religious affiliations, however. It's enough that they are in the country illegally, and they simply have to go.
There's been no talk of building a wall around France, but then again, a chain link fence on the beaches of St. Tropez would very much mar the view. It will come down to the vigilance of the local authorities, to root out the interlopers. Considering the fact that the minister is keen to go after the illegal North Africans, it should be relatively easy to spot them on the streets.
The gendarmerie could be on the lookout for dark skin and a Moroccan caste to the eye, and they'd nab the invaders with relative ease. These same North Africans are also among the poorest, with the highest unemployment rate, which would also help them to stand out from the French crowd. Once they've been seen, it's simply a matter of taking them into custody, putting them on a plane, and sending them back from whence they came. A large part of France is expected to cheer.
Where, oh where, has multiculturalism gone?
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