( dpa ) - The French government will lobby hard to have at least four more permanent members added to the UN Security Council and to transform the G8 into a G13, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Tuesday.
Saying, "You cannot organize the world of the 21st century with the organization of the 20th," Sarkozy told journalists in Paris that the French government would do "everything in its power" to have China, India, South Africa, Mexico and Brazil join the G8 and to see that Germany, Japan, India and "a large African nation" be granted permanent seats on the Security Council.
In his first major press conference since taking office in May, Sarkozy also laid out his projects for France's six-month presidency of the European Union, which begins on July 1.
"When our presidency is over, I want Europe to have an immigration policy, an energy policy, an environment policy and a defence policy," Sarkozy said.
In addition, the French president said he would apply to Europe the same "policy of civilization" he was attempting to implement in France.
This policy consisted, among other things, of a "democratization" and "humanization" of government and a will to protect economic interests against speculators, he said.
Sarkozy also called for changes in the way the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund carry out their missions, and said that France would continue to be involved in Lebanon and the Mideast.
In the wide-ranging press conference, Sarkozy also said his government would impose in France an immigration policy based on quotas "negotiated with the countries of origin."