France's Sarkozy, in Mali, rejects charges of racism

BAMAKO, Mali -- French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy fended off charges yesterday that a selective new immigration bill he backed was racist and he offered possible tax breaks for Mali immigrants sending home money from France.

Facing a hostile reception from protesters in Mali, his first stop on a two-nation trip to West Africa, Sarkozy defended as fair the immigration legislation passed by France's lower house of parliament on Wednesday.

The bill, which aims to attract skilled workers while keeping less skilled ones out, has stirred angry protests from critics in France and Mali, a former French colony, who say the measure is racist and discriminatory.

Hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Mali and other African countries live in France, many of them illegally.

''Our policy is simple: More rights for Malians whose situation is in order and fewer Malians in an illegal situation. No nation with a state of law can fault us for that policy," he said after meeting Malian Prime Minister Ousmane Issoufi Maiga.

Later, he proposed that Malian immigrants working in France should be excused from paying income tax on any money earned which was then used to finance development projects in their home country.

''Can you see the economic power of what I'm proposing?," he asked, saying that Malian immigrants working in France sent home around $350 million every year.

Sarkozy, a leading contender for France's 2007 presidential election, was also due to visit Benin today for talks on French policy in Africa, including immigration and aid.

When he visited the French consulate in Bamako earlier yesterday, around 100 protesters chanted ''Sarko, racist."

Critics of Sarkozy's immigration law say it will stigmatize foreigners, discriminate against the poor, and dent France's traditional role as a haven for the persecuted.

Sarkozy said in Bamako 45,000 Malians lived legally in France and that French authorities had granted just over 15,000 entry visas to Malians last year in response to 22,000 requests.

''Where's the racism, fascism or xenophobia?" he asked.

The immigration law, to be debated by France's Senate in June, would create a three-year ''skills and talents" residence permit to attract skilled workers but also allow in workers in sectors and zones facing unskilled labor shortages. It would also make it harder for resident immigrants to bring their families to France.

Sarkozy asked Malian authorities to help crack down on traffickers who smuggled illegal migrants to France.

The French minister's visit to West Africa comes at a time when European countries are becoming increasingly worried about growing waves of foreign immigrants, many from West Africa, trying to gain entry by both sea and land. Hundreds die in the attempt, some in the deserts of North Africa, others drowned in perilous sea voyages.

Faced with a mounting backlash at home against illegal immigrants, European countries are taking steps to control the flow of those trying to get in.

Spain, one of the main destinations of African migrants due to its position on Europe's southern flank, is asking the European Union for help to stem a rush of illegal immigrants.