PARIS, May 23: France plans to offer incentives to more immigrants to return home, especially to Africa, new immigration minister Brice Hortefeux said on Wednesday. France will provide 6,000 euros (8,000 dollars) to a family with two children if they agree to go back to their country of origin, an incentive that was taken up by some 1,000 families in 2005 and 2,000 in 2006.

“We must increase this measure to help voluntary return. I am very clearly committed to doing that,” said Hortefeux, who last week was named in the rightwing government of President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Hortefeux heads a newly-created ministry of immigration, integration, national identity and co-development that is expected to toughen up immigration policy and tailor it to France's employment needs.

Sarkozy has warned of a “social explosion” if immigration is not managed in France where rioting in the immigrant-heavy suburbs in 2005 highlighted the failures of the government's integration efforts.

Amnesty International on Wednesday expressed concern that a new restrictive immigration policy would affect France's willingness to take in asylum seekers.

“Our concern ... is that asylum will be under the responsibility of Mr Hortefeux along with everything dealing with immigration control,” said Patrick Delouvin, an official with Amnesty International.

Hortefeux, who plans to travel soon to Spain and Africa to try to coordinate efforts to fight illegal immigration, also said he was in favour of a language test for newcomers to France.

France is home to 1.5 million immigrants from mostly Muslim North Africa and 500,000 from sub-Saharan Africa.—AFP