French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he was concerned about the condition of ethnic diversity amongst the French society and announced a new packet to push his ideas.

Sarkozy has planned to put more ethnic minorities on TV screens, in political parties, and in elite schools. A government action plan to be presented by March will spell out the measures in detail. The project is to be overseen by a newly-appointed commissioner for diversity and equality, Yazid Sabeg, a son of Algerian immigrants who is known for his efforts to bring equality to the workplace.

“It’s not moving fast enough,” Sarkozy said in a speech at the elite Ecole Polytechnique, south of Paris, a symbol of the very system that has locked minorities out of the mainstream. France must change so that “no French person feels like a stranger in his own country,” Sarkozy said. He stressed that prestigious schools must make room for all. “We are going to throw open the doors of places where tomorrow’s elite are formed,” the president emphasised. He wants top schools to reserve 25 percent of their places for students receiving state aid by September.