A French mayor is threatening to sue a Swiss far-right political party after it published advertisements calling thousands of French workers who daily cross the border to work in Switzerland "scum".

Christian Dupessey, mayor of the French border town of Annemasse, denounced what he called "racist statements" and said on his website Tuesday that on behalf of the residents of his town he "reserved the right to sue for libel."

The French "scum" statement — and a call to expel "foreign criminals" — was made in an advertisement for the Democratic Union of the Centre (UDC) published in a Geneva newspaper and on posters around the wealthy Swiss city.

The party, which in 2007 caused outrage with an election poster showing a white sheep kicking a black sheep off a Swiss flag, made the attack as part of its battle against a planned new train line between Geneva and Annemasse.

The UDC, which in the German-speaking parts of Switzerland is known as the Swiss People's Party (SVP), enjoys the support of about a third of Switzerland's electorate.

It said in its ad that the commuter train line would be "a new means of transport for the scum of Annemasse."

"Let's expel foreign criminals!" it said.

The Haute-Savoie local branch of France's opposition Socialist party also denounced the advertisement as "xenophobic."

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AFP

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