France Begins Deportations Linked to Riots
The French government Thursday deported a Malian who was involved in fall rioting and said it was preparing to send home six more foreigners.
The deportations make good on promises by Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy during three weeks of car burnings and other violence that began Oct. 27. “I was widely criticized for saying ... that I would apply the law by expelling those who participated in the riots,” Sarkozy said on LCI television. “Well, a first one took an airplane to Mali today.”
Sarkozy said six other foreigners convicted of crimes were to be deported, calling the delay a result of long legal procedures.
During the unrest, Sarkozy said he had asked local authorities to immediately deport 120 foreigners arrested during the turmoil, which raised concern among human rights groups.
Most of the cases were dropped because the suspects were minors or faced the prospect of double punishment, a Sarkozy spokesman said.
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