France assuages immigration fears

One of the key ministers in French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s new administration, Brice Hortefeux. Minister of immigration, integration, national identity and co-development, sought on the 21 May 2007 to assuage fears that the government would adopt a bulldozer approach to policing immigration. He said his ministry would act with “firmness and humanity” in dealing with issues such as the deportation of illegal immigrants, known as sans papiers.