Saudi intelligence services have warned of a new terror threat from al Qaida in Europe, “notably France,” Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux said today.

FRANCE has stepped up its vigilance against terror threats, a top official announced yesterday amid reports of various new threats, including one against the Paris transport network.

France today promised to continue dismantling illegal gypsy encampments and sending their inhabitants back to Eastern Europe despite widespread international criticism.

FRANCE expelled scores of Roma, packing them on planes and flying them back to Romania yesterday at the start of a crackdown ordered by President Nicolas Sarkozy which has drawn strong criticism.

France’s new immigration minister today ordered stepped-up arrests and expulsions of illegal immigrants and, in a clear toughening of the French approach to the problem, set quotas for police and customs officers to fulfil by the end of the year.