The French Interior Minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, has defended his new immigration bill, which contains tough measures that make entry more difficult for unskilled migrants and allows officials to select skilled workers from abroad.
The proposed law, which was approved by France's National Assembly last night, also makes family reunification more difficult for immigrants and removes the automatic right to citizenship of long-term foreign residents.
The bill also requires immigrants to sign an integration contract agreeing to learn the French language and to respect French republican principles.
Hundreds of people protested against the bill’s tough measures in the Malian capital, Bamako, where Mr Sarkozy is on a visit aimed at discussing the immigration question.
Mr Sarkozy described the bill as a 'reasonable text' and said it had the support of three-quarters of the French public.
However, a representative of a protest group called the African Solidarity for Democracy and Independence said the law was fundamentally racist and described Mr Sarkozy’s visit as a provocation.
France's interior ministry says there are 45,000 legal Malian migrants in the country, and about the same number of illegal immigrants.
The bill is subject to final approval of the Senate, which begins debating it next month.
