Anger As Sarkozy Wages War On French Gypsies

[Treffie]

President Nicolas Sarkozy has been accused of racism after ordering the expulsion of all illegal Gypsy immigrants from France.

Mr Sarkozy wants immigration laws tightened 'for reasons of public order'

A group of travellers rioted earlier this month after a young man was shot evading police in the Loire Valley.

In a meeting held in response to the trouble, Mr Sarkozy said those responsible would be "severely punished" and pushed for a crackdown on Roma immigrants from Eastern Europe.

The president demanded their camps be broken up and "systematically evacuated" and the inhabitants thrown out of the country.

I am afraid we're preparing to open a blighted page in the history of France, which could sadly lead to acts of reprisal in the days ahead.

Roma leaders' lawyer, Henri Braun

He also called for French immigration law to be tightened to make the expulsions easier "for reasons of public order".

Both his request to the government and the language in which it was delivered have sparked heavy criticism from French Roma leaders, who were snubbed from the discussions.

They were angered that Mr Sarkozy's orders targeted the group, despite the recent violence in Saint-Aignan coming from a community of travelling folk established in the region for years.

The president's language has chilling undertones in a country where authorities rounded up Gypsies and sent them to concentration camps during the Nazi occupation in the Second World War.

The Roma leaders said even the very principle of Mr Sarkozy's meeting - which singled out an ethnic group in a country that is officially blind to ethnic origins - is racist.

And they warned of grave consequences if their side is not heard.

"I am afraid we're preparing to open a blighted page in the history of France, which could sadly lead to acts of reprisal in the days ahead," said Henri Braun, a lawyer for the group.

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[Eldritch]

France has been in a state of race war for years already. If Sarko's side is finally going to actually start fighting the war it can only be a good thing.

[Treffie]

France has begun its controversial expulsion of around 700 Roma to Romania and Bulgaria amid rising criticism of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s clampdown on the minority.



The first 79 Roma who agreed to a so-called “voluntary return procedure” will be put on an afternoon flight to Bucharest, the first such expulsion since Sarkozy last month vowed action against Roma, Gipsy and traveller communities.

France intends to fly 132 more to Timisoara, in western Romania, and Bucharest on Friday and 160 on August 26, with each adult granted 300 euros and each minor 100 euros.

Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Baconschi said he was worried about the risk of “xenophobic reactions”.

“I am worried about the risks of populism and xenophobic reactions in a context of economic crisis”, Mr Baconschi said.

French Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux will next week receive senior Romanian officials including Secretary of State for Roma Integration Valentin Mocanu to discuss the Roma’s predicament.

About 10,000 Roma from Romania and Bulgaria were returned to their countries last year, but this is the first expulsion since Sarkozy in July announced a clampdown on foreigners.

Baconschi said he “hopes” that all legal procedures have been duly applied for these “expulsions”.

The European Union’s executive arm has said France must abide by the bloc’s freedom of movement rules when it expels Roma living illegally in the country.

The European Commission is following the situation “very attentively”, a spokesman, Matthew Newman, said.

Most of the Roma who were sent to Romania last year returned to France afterwards as European citizens free to travel in the EU, officials admitted.

The French foreign ministry insisted the measures being taken against the Roma were in line with European rules.

“The measures taken by the French authorities with regard to dismantling illegal camps fully conform with European rules and do not in any way affect the freedom of movement for EU citizens, as defined by treaties,” foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said.

Valero said a European directive “expressly allows for restrictions on the right to move freely for reasons of public order, public security and public health”.

There are about 15,000 Roma of Eastern European origin in France.

The Roma community in Romania numbers 530,000 according to the national census or 2.5 million according to non-governmental organisations, who say that some do not declare themselves as Roma fearing discrimination.

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