France expels Islamist radicals

France has expelled two radical Muslims and plans to deport three others, officials said Monday, in an ongoing crackdown on extremism following a deadly Islamist-inspired shooting spree.

An Algerian radical and an extremist imam from Mali were sent back to their home countries on Monday, a statement from the French Interior Ministry said. Deportation orders were also underway for an imam from Turkey and a Tunisian national, while a Saudi imam currently abroad was to be refused reentry into France.

The statement said the men had made anti-Semitic remarks in their sermons and had called for Muslims to reject Western values. The ministry also accused them of calling on women to wear the full-face veil, which France outlawed one year ago.

"We do not accept Islamic extremism," Interior Minister Claude Gueant told BFM TV on Monday. "This is not a new policy ... but after what happened in Toulouse and Montauban we have to be more vigilant than ever."

The deportations are part of a move by the French government to root out extremist Muslims, after three paratroopers, a rabbi and three young pupils at a Jewish school were shot dead by a 23-year-old radical. Mohamed Merah confessed to the killings during a 32-hour standoff with French police in his native Toulouse that ended with police fatally shooting him.

Early morning raids across the country on Friday led to the arrests of 19 people for suspected membership in Islamist networks.

Conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy, who faces a strong challenger in Socialist Francois Hollande in presidential elections this month and next, has made rooting out Islamist extremism a central campaign focus.

acb/ncy (AFP, AP)