Wauquiez said around 30 French nationals had been brought out of the city of Benghazi, where there has been a fierce crackdown on protests for the past few days, and flown to Tripoli.
“We are trying to organize things so that French schools close now and are encouraging French citizens and families in Tripoli and Libya in general to come back to France,” Wauquiez said on Europe 1 radio.
About 750 French people live in Libya, he said, adding: “For the moment there’s no direct threat (to them).”
Human Rights Watch said at least 223 people had been killed in five days of violence in Libya, mostly in Benghazi, cradle of the uprising and center of a region where leader Muammar Gaddafi’s grip has always been weaker than elsewhere in the oil-rich desert nation.
Witnesses say Libyan protesters and security forces battled for control of Tripoli’s city center overnight, with snipers opening fire and Moammar Qaddafi supporters shooting from speeding vehicles.
The protests appear to be the heaviest in Libya’s capital after days of deadly clashes in eastern cities.
Three witnesses say protesters Sunday night moved into Tripoli’s central Green Square and nearby squares.
Plainclothes security forces and militiamen attacked in clashes that lasted until dawn.
One witness says snipers opened fire from rooftops. Two others say gunmen in vehicles with photos of Qaddafi sped through, opening fire and running people over. The witnesses reported seeing casualties, but the number could not be confirmed.
