Press TV (Irlande) : France expels North African migrants (video en anglais)

The French government has harshly cracked down on North African immigrants holding temporary visas issued by Italy in a move seen as clear violation of EU laws.

Amid an exceptional exodus of Tunisian, Libyan and Egyptian refugees from Italy, the French police detained and deported a number of North African migrants after launching a crackdown on hundreds of immigrants sleeping in a Paris park, a Press TV correspondent reported Friday.

The majority of immigrants were in possession of temporary visas that enabled them to cross into France, but the authorities in Paris refused the documents, insisting that those without the legally-required 31 euros per day will be detained and deported.

"When we come to immigrants yes they are literally… living in poor situation. They need everything, they are marooning in towns with expectations and hopes that are... absolutely and totally bloated and now they are waking up to the fact that France is not the El Dorado and Italy is not the El Dorado," Maurizio Busatti from the International Organization for Migration told Press TV.

The French government's move has prompted a sharp rebuke from human rights groups and several French politicians, who have drawn attention to the borderless regime enjoyed by more than 400 million people in 25 countries in the European Union.

Reports say more than 25,000 people have arrived in Italy, mainly via the southern island of Lampedusa over the last three months. Most are young men from Tunisia looking for work; though in recent weeks refugees from troubled Libya have been pouring in alike.

On April 17, France halted a train carrying Tunisian immigrants from Italy at the French border, sending back those who could not support themselves financially.

Last week, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi mounted pressure on Brussels and the governments of the other 25 EU states, demanding an "in-depth revision" of European law regulating the passport-free travel that takes in almost the entire EU with the exception of Britain and Ireland.

The initiative has come to the fore as the Sarkozy's UMP party is in dire need of the right-wing support ahead of presidential election next year and many analysts argue that such clamor has led to recent tough stance on migrants and attacks on Muslims.