French presidential hopeful sparks outcry with idea to deport migrants to remote island

PARIS (Reuters) - French presidential hopeful Laurent Wauquiez has caused an outcry in France, including within his own conservative camp, for suggesting sending migrants awaiting deportation to the remote island of Saint Pierre and Miquelon off Canada's coast.

Wauquiez is one of a crowded group of possible contenders for the conservative ticket in the next presidential election in 2027, with many of them competing to take the hardest line on immigration to catch up with the far-right National Rally.

The proposal from Wauquiez, the head of the Republicans party in the lower house, made in a front-page interview with JDNews magazine, has caused consternation in France, including from the government his party supports and from within his camp.

"No French territory deserves to be treated like a relegation zone," said Manuel Valls, a former prime minister now in charge of overseas territories in Francois Bayrou's government. "Forced exile is the method of a coloniser, not that of an elected official of the French Republic," he said.

Saint Pierre and Miquelon is a sparsely inhabited French-ruled archipelago located off the coast of northern Canada. The islands remain outside the Schengen free-travel area despite being a part of France.

The issue of illegal migrants whose deportation has been ordered but still remain in France has become a red-hot debate in France.

The far right has seized on the issue of authorities failing to implement many of the so-called OQTF deportation orders - as a sign of weakness from the French state.

However, even far-right leader Marine Le Pen criticised Wauquiez's idea.

"The place for OQTF (migrants) is in their country, certainly not on French territory. The people of Saint Pierre and Miquelon are not second-rate citizens," she said on X.

Some in Wauquiez's party said his proposal disqualified him as a potential presidential candidate. A primary is scheduled for May 17, with a possible second round on May 25.

"Many of us thought it was fake news," a conservative lawmaker told Reuters on condition of anonymity. "It shows he won't stop at anything, even the most extreme proposals."

Other European nations have explored schemes to transport migrants overseas. Italy's government drew up plans to send illegal migrants to camps in Albania, evoking comparisons with Britain's aborted scheme to send asylum seekers to Rwanda.

Wauquiez doubled down on his plan on Wednesday. "All the dangerous OQTFs to Saint Pierre and Miquelon. I stick to my guns," he said on X.

(Reporting by Michel Rose, Elizabeth Pineau and Layli Foroudi; Editing by Ros Russell)