AFP- The French government said Monday it will award residency permits to foreign entrepreneurs and investors to reward them for creating jobs and investing in the country.

Under the terms of a decree to be published Tuesday, anyone who creates or saves 50 jobs, or pledges to invest at least 10 million euros (15 million dollars) in the country, will be entitled to a 10-year resident's permit.

The measure would apply to individual investors or shareholders with a 30-percent or higher stake in a business found to have made "an exceptional economic contribution," said a statement from the immigration ministry.

Around 1,000 people are expected eventually to benefit from the scheme, with an initial 200 resident cards to be handed out in 2010.

President Nicolas Sarkozy has tightened French immigration laws since his election in 2007, setting quotas for the deportation of undocumented migrants and favouring skilled foreigners seen as benefiting the economy.