Groups that do not act by automorphisms of codimension-one foliations

Let Γ be a finitely generated group having the property that any action of any finite-index subgroup of Γ by homeomorphisms of the circle must have a finite orbit. (By a theorem of É. Ghys, lattices in simple Lie groups of real rank at least 2 have this property.) Suppose that such a Γ acts on a compact manifold M by automorphisms of a codimension-one C foliation, F . We show that if F has a compact leaf, then some finite-index subgroup of Γ fixes a compact leaf of F . Furthermore, we give sufficient conditions for some finite-index subgroup of Γ to fix each leaf of F .