His call came as the French centre-Right threw its full firepower behind their candidate in Villepinte, near Charles de Gaulle airport, in a huge, glitzy show of force designed to breath new life into his flagging campaign.
Hailed like a prizefighter, Mr Sarkozy climbed the huge white stage to the strains of his campaign anthem and an amended slogan: "Strong France with You".
Actor Gérard Depardieu lent some star power to proceedings, along with Mr Sarkozy's wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and her predecessor as First Lady, Bernadette Chirac.
Days after telling France that he would give up politics if he lost the forthcoming elections, Mr Sarkozy told supporters "I have lost none of my desire to act" before launching into a series of protectionist proposals for France and Europe.
These included suspending France's participation in the Schengen visa-free zone signed by all 27 EU states bar Britain and Ireland if its rules were not revised to fight illegal immigration in the coming 12 months.
France would stay out of Schengen "until negotiations conclude," he said.
Since his official campaign launch three weeks ago, Mr Sarkozy has veered Right in a bid to capture the far-Right National Front vote, last week saying there were "too many foreigners in France" and promising to half [sic] the influx of migrants.
On Sunday, he said France would not leave policing Europe's borders to European "technocrats". » | Henry Samuel | Paris | Sunday, March 11, 2012
leJDD.fr: Bernadette Chirac en vedette américaine à Villepinte » | Vivien Vergnaud - leJDD.fr | dimanche 11 mars 2012
