© Charles Platiau / Reuters
Marine Le Pen, the far-right French presidential candidate, has called for the introduction of harsh measures to bar illegal immigrants from sending their children to school for free.
Speaking at a conference organized by the BVA polling organization in Paris, Le Pen, the leader and presidential candidate for far-right National Front (FN), said she wanted to put an end to asylum seekers entering the country illegally and letting their children take advantage of the free French education system.
"I've got nothing against foreigners but I say to them: if you come to our country, don't expect to be taken care of, to be looked after, that your children will be educated without charge," she said.
"That's finished now, playtime's over," Le Pen
added.
When asked to clarify, Le Pen told reporters from AFP that she was specifically referring to illegal, undocumented immigrants, not foreigners in general, and added that foreigners living in France who do not pay taxes should contribute to the costs of public education instead.
"To ask foreigners to participate in the schooling of their children in France is not a step that shocks me beyond measure, it is done in many countries," she said, as quoted by L'Express.
Comment: Lt. Gen. Rudskoy gives an update on the situation: