France stops deportation of Haitian illegals after quake

France has stopped deporting illegal immigrants from Haiti because of the devastating earthquake that struck that country, Immigration Minister Eric Besson announced Thursday, DPA reported.

President Nicolas Sarkozy is to meet with his government later Thursday to discuss the situation in Haiti and decide on additional aid.

France has already deployed several military transport planes and dozens of rescue workers to the capital Port-au-Prince, which appears to have suffered most of the damage.

The French foreign ministry said Thursday that some 50 French nationals were thought to be missing in Haiti. An estimated 1,500 French citizens were living in the former French colony, most of them in Port-au-Prince.