France's Foreign Affairs Minister Bernard Kouchner arrives at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Monday. (Philippe Wojazer/Reuters)

France's foreign minister said Monday he considered resigning amid a debate over his government's expulsions of Roma — a policy that has drawn fire from the Vatican and from the United Nations.

Bernard Kouchner — a longtime human rights advocate turned political figure — said he "isn't happy about what happened" and admitted France's image has taken a hit.

But he said France "has nothing to blush about" as a top recipient of asylum-seekers.

Kouchner told RTL radio that he had spoken to President Nicolas Sarkozy about his concerns and decided that "to leave would be to desert."

France has stepped up a long-standing policy of rounding up and sending home Eastern European Roma. More than 100 illegal camps have been dismantled in recent weeks.

On Friday, the UN's anti-racism panel said France should avoid "collective repatriation" of Roma while finding solutions that respect human rights.

The Vatican also said Friday it deplores the crackdown.

A day earlier, the archbishop of Paris referred to the repatriation operation as a "circus" and said he would tell the government that there are lines that cannot be crossed.