France has already deported 18,126 illegal immigrants this year, a number which is expected to reach approximately 21,000 according to data from the French Ministry of the Interior cited by the Le Figaro newspaper.
In 2012, France deported 21,841 illegal immigrants and the number is expected to reach “similar levels”, said the ministry.
Controversy concerning France’s policy towards foreigners has been intense in past years.
Up until August, around 18% of the deportations involved Romanian citizens.
A poll published last month found that 77% of French people agreed with a statement by Interior Minister Manuel Valls, who had said that Roma immigrants were inherently “different” and would have to return to Bulgaria and Romania.
In July, a French politician had stirred up controversy after declaring that “maybe Hitler did not kill enough Roman gypsies”. Gilles Bourdouleix, surrounded by armed police, was trying to persuade the residents of an illegal camp in Cholet to move on.
