LONDON: Michel Barnier, the French lawyer who led the EU鈥檚 Brexit negotiations, has called for a five-year ban on immigration into Europe, referring to the bloc鈥檚 borders and internal Schengen passport-free zone as a 鈥渟ieve.鈥�

Barnier, 70, said he will wait until autumn to make a decision about whether to stand for the French presidency next year. His comments come at a time of heightened rhetoric around immigration and Islam in France.

Barnier said an immigration ban would help fight crime and terrorism domestically, and ease tensions that have led to a surge in support for far-right candidates.

鈥淭he problems of immigration are not trifling. As a politician, I know how to see the problems as they are and how the French people experience them, and how to find solutions,鈥� he added.

鈥淚 think we have to take the time for three or five years to suspend immigration, but not all immigrants are potential terrorists, or criminals 鈥� notably those who cross the Mediterranean for a better life.鈥�

Barnier expressed sympathy for hundreds of retired and serving French military personnel who signed letters in recent weeks referring to the dangers posed to France of 鈥淚slamist hordes.鈥� 

He also appeared to back calls for a ban on headscarves worn in public, a policy that would disproportionately affect Muslim women. 鈥淲e must clearly reaffirm that religious insignia cannot enter the public space,鈥� he said.

A swing to harsher views on migration and Islam has become increasingly mainstream in France, with President Emmanuel Macron also having called for tighter controls on borders and a review of the Schengen Agreement.

Far-right National Rally leader Marine Le Pen, Macron鈥檚 biggest rival for the presidency, has also called for a temporary end to immigration from outside the EU, to be replaced by a limit of just 10,000 people per year.