Posted on 08/30/2006 6:12:27 PM PDT by blam
Sarkozy embarrassed as Algerian thief is arrested
By Colin Randall in Paris
(Filed: 31/08/2006)
An Algerian thief saved from deportation by France's interior minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, made a spectacular return to crime.
Police opened fire after a stolen BMW driven by Cherif Bouchelaleg sped towards a checkpoint protecting the prime minister, Dominique de Villepin, at Sallanches, near the borders with Switzerland and Italy.
The incident — in which Bouchelaleg, 36, was arrested after jumping from the car and trying to escape on foot — embarrassed Mr Sarkozy, a presidential hopeful who has made much of exerting control over France's borders.
advertisement In 2002 Bouchelaleg became the centre of the row about "double jeopardy", the policy of expelling foreign criminals as well as sentencing them for their crimes. After a spate of offences, he faced being sent back to Algeria but was spared when Mr Sarkozy's intervention led to a change in the law.
Right-wingers said yesterday's incident demonstrated that Mr Sarkozy's policies were failing and called for the restoration of double jeopardy.
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