Nicolas Sarkozy
© AFP/POOL Jacques Brinon PARIS (AFP) - Sarkozy said millions throughout the world remain "victims of the slave trade, deprived of their liberty and subjected to brutal conditions of exploitation".
Speaking at a ceremony commemorating the French abolition of slavery in 1848, he recalled the "suffering that slavery caused, the wounds it left in men's souls (and) the deep wound that still weighs on consciences".
Sarkozy used the occasion to comment on cyclone-ravaged Myanmar, where he said an "eminently condemnable regime" was preventing the distribution of relief supplies to those who had been made homeless.
In another part of Paris, around 2,000 people -- chanting "down with prejudice" -- gathered not only to mark the end of slavery, but also to condemn racial discrimination.
"We don't want to have to wait another 160 years to help those suffering today," said Patrick Lozes, a black community activist. "We want the authorities to be aware of discrimination in housing, work and leisure activities."
Lozes addressed the crowd with a series of demands that included "an end to expulsion quotas". The expulsion of Africans who lack proper residence qualifications is a particularly sore point among blacks in France.
©AFP