Sarkozy wants MP for French in London

A FRENCH MP could soon be elected for London and the rest of Britain.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy has proposed giving expatriates in the UK, many of whom live in London, their own deputy to represent them in the National Assembly in Paris.

Mr Sarkozy hailed the British capital as "one of the great French cities" when he visited London during the presidential election in France in 2007.

Tens of thousands of Frenchmen and women live in London and up to 400,000 in the whole of the UK.

New French MPs would also represent expatriates in Germany, the USA, Switzerland, eastern Europe, the Iberian Peninsula and Monaco, the Middle East, Latin America, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region.

However, the French president has been accused of devising the plan for 11 new overseas deputies to boost his parliamentary support.

The French Socialist Party has accused Mr Sarkozy of gerrymandering tactics to increase backing for his Right-wing UMP party.

A Socialist spokesman said: "Studies show French people living abroad are more likely to vote for a centre-Right party than a Left-wing one.

"This is being proposed as something that is good for French expatriates, but in fact it is just a way for the government to give itself another 11 safe seats."

Many French émigrés to London are university graduates, professionals in the City, chefs and other skilled workers.