French President and candidate for the French presidential election Nicolas Sarkozy gestures during a campaign meeting, in Cernay, eastern France, Wednesday April 25, 2012.
“Mr. Hollande said on television last night, ‘I will regularize all [illegal immigrants]. Yes, all of them. Because [granting resident permits] on a case-by-case basis means everybody…Regularization on a case-by-case basis is nothing more than general amnesty.”—campaign speech, April 25, insisting Hollande proposes a blanket amnesty for all illegal immigrants present in France requesting legalized resident status.
Pledge 50 in Hollande’s campaign program reads, “I’ll lead a implacable fight against illegal immigration, human trafficking networks, and illicit employment [of illegal aliens]. I will police legal immigration. Regularization (of petitioning illegals) will be examined on a case-by-case basis, using objective criteria.”