19/05/2011 (Agence Europe) - French president gives personal commitment to road safety. Visiting the Var department on Thursday 19 May, the French head of state, Nicolas Sarkozy, emphasised the importance of reducing the number of deaths on France's roads, the Reuters agency reports. “I will not allow the number of deaths to start rising again. I will not give in on this objective”, he said. “I ask all who protest at this just to give thought to what might befall each of us”, he added. MPs from his own UMP party have called for a moratorium on the recent decision to remove the signs warning of speed cameras. This decision was announced last week, along with a number of others, such as toughening sanctions against speeding, drink-driving and using a mobile phone while driving, aimed at improving road safety. Around 4,000 people die every year in road accidents in France. The number of deaths rose by 19.9% in April, to 355, compared with April 2010. (A.By./transl.rt)