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Illegal Mali immigrants in Nicolas Sarkozy’s home

Monday, 18 June 2007

Illegal Mali immigrants in Nicolas Sarkozy’s home

French police are investigating how two illegal immigrants from Mali came to be working at an official residence used by the president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy.

The two men were employed on building renovation work at Nicolas Sarkozy’s La Lanterne home in Versailles, but they were arrested this week for having fake residency papers, and although the men have been released prosecution or deportation could still result from this.

Nicolas Sarkozy is well known for having a tough opposition stance against illegal immigrants and he has vowed to deport thousands of people without residency papers in 2007.

The residency the men were working on has usually been used by French prime ministers but has been the choice of Nicolas Sarkozy since he became president.

France's Le Parisien newspaper reported that Nicolas Sarkozy himself had requested the renovation because he wanted a swimming pool to be mended, but a spokesman for the French government has denied this claim.

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