PARIS, Dec 21: French police attacked a group of illegal immigrants on Saturday to stop them from occupying a church in Paris.

The immigrants, who usually parade in Paris on Saturday afternoons to press their demand that the French government accord them residence papers, were trying to occupy the church, one of the most prestigious in the French capital.

As part of a trend that is becoming more evident, police used methods considered more forceful than usual, and this ostensibly with the prior authorization of Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy who, since organizing the closing down of the Sangatte refugee center at Calais, has let it be known that henceforth he would be taking a no-nonsense attitude with regard to paperless immigrants.

The new trend has also seen the French government introduce legislation that is to severely reduce the medical services that France makes available to illegal immigrants _ in an effort not only to reduce the country’s health services budget, but also apparently to encourage the migrants to return home.

A bill to that end was presented before parliament on Dec 11 by a pro-governmental deputy, Marie-Anne Montchamps, who did not hide the fact that it was drafted for her by the French social affairs ministry, and the state secretariat in charge of the budget.