A French European MP was fighting for her political future on Wednesday after coming under attack for describing France as a country of "white race".
Nadine Morano, of the right-wing The Republicans party, could be barred from standing in regional elections in December over her remarks, in which she also said France was a "Jewish-Christian" country.
Former president Nicolas Sarkozy, who heads the party -- the main opposition to the governing Socialists -- has asked the leadership to withdraw Morano from its list of candidates for the biggest electoral test of 2015.