Mr Sarkozy wants immigration laws tightened 'for reasons of public order'
A group of travellers rioted earlier this month after a young man was shot evading police in the Loire Valley.
In a meeting held in response to the trouble, Mr Sarkozy said those responsible would be "severely punished" and pushed for a crackdown on Roma immigrants, who hail from Eastern Europe.
The president demanded their camps be broken up and "systematically evacuated" and the inhabitants thrown out of the country.
I am afraid we're preparing to open a blighted page in the history of France, which could sadly lead to acts of reprisal in the days ahead.
Roma leaders' lawyer, Henri Braun
He also called for French immigration law to be tightened to make the expulsions easier "for reasons of public order".
Both his request to the government and the language it which it was delivered have sparked heavy criticism from French Roma leaders, who were snubbed from the discussions.
They were angered that Mr Sarkozy's orders targeted the group, despite the recent violence in Saint-Aignan coming from a community of travelling folk established in the region for years.
Rioters burned a car protesting in Saint-Aignan.
The president's language has chilling undertones in a country where authorities rounded up Gypsies and sent them to concentration camps during the Nazi occupation in World War II.
The Roma leaders said even the very principle of Mr Sarkozy's meeting - which singled out an ethnic group in a country that is officially blind to ethnic origins - is racist.
And they warned of grave consequences if their side is not heard.
"I am afraid we're preparing to open a blighted page in the history of France, which could sadly lead to acts of reprisal in the days ahead," said Henri Braun, a lawyer for the group.
