( CNN ) -- France has too many foreigners and is not integrating them properly , President Nicolas Sarkozy said in an interview on French television . `` Today we have a problem , '' Sarkozy said Tuesday night on France 2 TV . `` Our system of integration is working worse and worse because we have too many foreigners on our territory , and we can no longer manage to find them accommodation , a job , a school , '' he said . France places a premium on national identity , pressing the population to put `` Frenchness '' before religion or national background . Sarkozy is running for a second term in office , with voting set for April 22 . He faces a strong challenge from Francois Hollande of the Socialist party and a range of candidates from smaller parties , including the far-right Marine Le Pen . Sarkozy , a conservative , offered cautious praise for Hollande , but said he could not imagine his rival as president . `` Francois Hollande is an intelligent man , '' Sarkozy said . `` I do not have a problem with him . The only thing is , he has never held office at the state level . Honestly , can you imagine Francois Hollande as president of France ? Imagine it ! '' He said peace in the Middle East would be a top priority for him if he were re-elected . `` I hope that France -- and all of Europe -- we would take an initiative for the year 2012 to be the year of peace between Israel and the Palestinians , '' he said . And he said if he won a second term he would `` celebrate with those I love -- my wife and daughter . '' Issues surrounding immigration and integration have troubled French politicians for years . Last year , a controversial French law went into effect banning Islamic face coverings in public places . In 2010 , hundreds of Muslim youths rioted after a man died in a shootout with police . France has had an influx of about 130,000 people from other countries each year for the past several years , according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development . The country also had about 48,000 asylum seekers in 2010 . The French population is about 66 million , according to the CIA World Factbook .
NEW : France has an influx of about 130,000 people a year . France is not integrating very well , Nicolas Michel says . He is running for a second term in office and facing a strong challenge . He says he can not imagine his rival Paul Martin as president .