Nicolas Sarkozy, the most hawkish on immigration of the mainstream French presidential candidates, received manna from heaven the other day when he was criticized by racist Jean-Marie Le Pen as being a “candidate who comes from immigration” instead of a “candidate from the land.” Sarkozy, remember, is the one who’s been roundly condemned by right-thinking people for calling last year’s rioters “thugs” and for calling for the creation of a ministry of “immigration and national identity.” Of course, it tells you something about how far gone Europe is that it’s not PC to call thugs “thugs” and to want immigrants to assimilate. In fact, it’s the very people criticizing Sarkozy for his views on immigration that are responsible for the rise of Le Pen in the first place, because for a long time, he was the only person giving voice to the public’s concerns over immigration.