(PARIS) - France has deported nearly 15,000 illegal immigrants in the first five months of this year, an 80 percent jump from the same period last year, Immigration Minister Brice Hortefeux said Thursday.

The expulsions of 14,660 foreigners put France well on track to meeting its goal of deporting 26,000 illegal residents by the end of the year.

President Nicolas Sarkozy was elected last year on a promise to toughen immigration law and put in place a policy of "chosen immigration" to favour skilled foreigners who can boost the economy.

The number of working papers delivered by the government has increased by 16 percent, Hortefeux said, reflecting the "very clear shift toward professional immigration."

The number of illegal immigrants in France has dropped by eight percent over the course of the last year, according to the minister.

France is leading calls for a new European immigration pact to be negotiated during its six-month presidency of the European Union beginning on July 1.

The pact would ban blanket amnesties for illegal immigrants and set up a new "integration contract" setting out conditions for newly-arriving foreigners.

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