Eva Dadrian is forced to skim through the rampantly racist commentary in the French press this week "The hunting season has begun," announced Libération (April 24, 2006) which published a cartoon showing three of its most colourful politicians -- Jean-Marie Le Pen, extreme right-wing leader; Philippe de Villiers, leader of the Mouvement pour la France; and the centre-right Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy -- walking purposefully towards a group of small, bewildered-looking figures of various ethnicities. Comparing the recent comments made by Sarkozy and de Villiers to a former national Front slogan " La France, aimez-la ou quittez-la " (France, love her or leave her) Libération warns its readership of a "smell and sound of xenophobia, on the Right" ( A droite, le bruit et l'odeur de la xénophobie ). In fact, xenophobia has been on the rise since riots broke out in immigrant-saturated French suburbs last October and November. But this time, both men and especially Nicolas Sarkozy, have been treading on very treacherous waters. The French interior minister, who raised the sensitive issue of immigration well ahead of the 2007 presidential polls, faced charges of xenophobia over his comments on immigrants. Love him or hate him, Nicolas Sarkozy is determined to get to the top. In a hurry to win the 2007 presidential elections, he is already rushing to secure a pole position in the presidential, before anyone else. Therefore, before presenting a tough new immigration bill to parliament on 2 May, the catastrophe- heralding politician revealed his cards by telling new members of his Union for a Popular Movement that he was "sick of having to apologise for being French". For Sarkozy the momentum is appropriate if he is to bank on the recent demise of his archrival Dominic de Villepin following the farcical climb-down of the latter over the First Job Contract (CPE) earlier last month. In the same article, Libération says that Sarkozy behaves as the "rightful spiritual son of Jacques Chirac", when he makes these comments, and the paper reminds us that back in 1991, as mayor of Paris, Chirac had also flirted with the extreme right by denouncing "the sound and the smell" of the immigrants. Always delivering controversial speeches or throwing a cat amongst the pigeons, Sarkozy is extremely satisfied to be the first to launch the debate on immigration and of "being criticised by both the left and the right", writes Le Figaro (24 April). The paper also quotes the declaration made by Thierry Saussez, an occasional consultant to the minister of the interior. The consultant says that Nicolas Sarkozy "has a majority of support" as "90 per cent of the French think that one can leave if one does not like France." Could parallels be drawn between the immigration policies of France and Britain? The question comes to the fore when an article in Le Nouvel Observateur (24 April) announced that the French inter-ministerial committee on integration had decided to set conditions for the issuing of the Carte de Résidence (Residence Permit) to only those with a good command of the French language. Le Figaro (24 April) echoed the same announcement by writing that Catherine Vautrin, minister of social integration, declared "a good command of French is the condition for successful integration." The straw that breaks the camel's back is that the state will organise "a ceremony during which those who have decided to become French and have passed their exams will be congratulated", wrote Le Figaro (24 April).
