The state of emergency was simply a political gesture which showed the government prefers a law-and-order response to the problem.

France isn't a country that's massively racist. There's an enormous amount of mixing that occurs in France -- unlike a lot of European countries, where mixing is almost nonexistent. That means there's a lot of potential for fraternity and tolerance in France.

We're completely opposed to ethnic quotas, in the sense it will push people to identify themselves to a particular community. One of the biggest strengths of France is the fact that issues of ethnicity and religiosity are extremely porous -- as you can see with the very mixed population that exists in France.

If kids from the suburbs make it to university, you can be sure that they are motivated and hard-working. What big business needs to understand is that immigrants are a source of dynamism and economic wealth.

As uncomfortable as it may be, certain feathers must be pecked out to maintain order in the hen house.

We have had a totally transparent approach to this issue and we have very good contacts with the Indian government on that.