France threatens to pull out of the Schengen zone.

President Nicolas Sarkozy threatened to disregard European limitations on protectionism as he sought to give his re-election campaign a second wind on Sunday, France 2 reported.

According to Reuters addressing some 30,000 people at a vast conference centre just outside Paris, Sarkozy vowed to pull France out of the European Union's open-borders Schengen zone unless there was progress over the year ahead in fortifying Europe's borders.

Sarkozy said it was time to support local companies and stop the uncontrolled influx of immigrants and cheap imports that demonstrate Europe's lack of protectionist controls.