Presidential candidates have warned the terrorist threat remains high for France, following bombings in Algeria on Wednesday which killed 33 people.

The frontrunner, centre-right candidate and former interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy, said "the main terrorist threat in France comes from Algeria".

Far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen said France "is sitting on a powder keg".

The issue is highly sensitive, as France is home to many people of North African origin.

Interior Minister Francois Baroin, who replaced Mr Sarkozy at the end of March, said France was under a "real, varied and complex threat" from terrorism.

"What happened in London, Madrid and even New York could have happened here," Mr Baroin said.

He added that since last week security measures for the election had been stepped up.

France is on the red alert level - the third highest out of four, the highest being scarlet.

Right-wing populist candidate Philippe de Villiers called on President Jacques Chirac and the government to ban radical Muslim Salafist groups, in response to the recent bombings in Algeria, claimed by the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC).

Socialist candidate Segolene Royal expressed her horror at the bombings.

Centrist Francois Bayrou, speaking in the southern city of Marseille, said "no compromise, apparent or hidden, must be made" with terrorism.

Algerian Islamist militants were blamed for bombings on the Paris metro in 1995.

Photo caption

Algeria bombings