Kouchner says considered quitting over Roma policy

PARIS -- France's foreign minister says he considered resigning amid a debate over his government's expulsions of Gypsies.

Bernard Kouchner — a longtime human rights advocate turned political figure — has said he “isn't happy about what happened” and admits France's image has taken a hit.

But he says France “has nothing to blush about” as a top recipient of asylum-seekers.

Kouchner told RTL radio Monday he had spoken to President Nicolas Sarkozy about his concerns and decided that “to leave would be to desert.”

France has stepped up a long-standing policy of rounding up and sending home Eastern European Gypsies, or Roma. More than 100 illegal camps have been dismantled in recent weeks.


(2010-08-31/chinapost)