France and Britain send Afghans back on joint flight

France and Britain will send a plane carrying Afghan nationals back to their country this week as part of a new European crackdown on illegal immigration, the French Interior Ministry said today.

About 40 illegal immigrants will be on board the joint flight, the ministry said. The time and place of take-off were not released.

This month, French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy announced an agreement between Britain, Spain, Germany, France and Italy to send immigrants home using a singe plane that can make stops in each of their countries.

The agreement was reached during a conference of interior ministers in the French spa town of Evian.