I. Introduction - The Roma in France
Flickr image by Philippe Leroyer
Many of the recent news reports on the Roma in France can be read erroneously if this multi-faceted group is taken out of context or, quite simply, misidentified. The story of the Romani people is complex, spanning several continents and many centuries, and typically exists on the fringe, or just beyond the boundary, of recorded history. With a deluge of reports on the Roma's recent struggles with the current French government flooding the news media, it seems appropriate to pose two questions: who are the Roma and what is the context of recent events in France?
The term “Roma” is often confused with the term “Romani;” the latter designates all social groups and individuals identifying their ancestry with the original group, the ones who migrated from India to Persia during the third to seventh centuries, while the former refers to a specific subgroup of Romani people with roots primarily in Eastern and Central Europe. Some Roma have recently migrated to Western Europe.
The approximately 400,000 members of the Romani family living in France belong to independent subgroups: Kale, Sinti, Tsigannes, and Roma. It is estimated that 12,000 to 20,000 of the 400,000 Romani in France are actually Roma who have migrated recently under European Union freedom of movement provisions. While most members of the other subgroups have been in France long enough to have attained citizenship, the 12,000 to 20,000 Roma live in what the French government refers to as “illegal camps.” The other 380,000 or so are predominantly French citizens living in established camps. The image of the itinerant traveler is an historical one; the contemporary Romani people tend to live sedentary lifestyles.
France's seeming acceptance of the itinerant Romani lifestyle is reflected in a law stating that all French municipalities are required to allocate a piece of land to Romani travelers when they arrive. This example of tolerance, if not acceptance, is one of the few in a Romani history that includes centuries of encounters with discrimination and prejudice, persecution and execution, wherever they have roamed. It has been estimated that over half a million Romani people were exterminated during the second world war.
This year, French president Nicolas Sarkozy developed what many consider an extreme position against the Roma following a rampage in St. Aignan. A group attacked the local police station and burned cars following the death, hours earlier, of a robbery suspect shot by the police. Just days after this incident, July 28th, Sarkozy ordered the expulsion of illegal Roma from French territory and the destruction of their camps, an intensification of policy that had been in play since 2009.
The European Union was slow to respond, leading Amnesty International to suggest that they were “turning a blind eye” to the plight of the Roma. When the EU finally acted in earnest, on September 29th, they threatened France with court proceedings if the nation did not bring their laws in line with those of the EU's freedom of movement policy by October 15th. France agreed to enact certain humanitarian provisions in 2011 and the EU suspended its human rights complaint against France.
Thousands of Roma have already been deported from France, many in recent months, to an even more hostile environment. The Roma of France, like Romani subgroups throughout the world, live within much larger societies that leave them in tenuous positions, at best.
The question of whether the government of France is discriminating against the Roma is still being fiercely debated, and will be for some time. Two PWPP media partners, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have over 1000 postings on the Roma, chronicling what many consider human rights abuses throughout the world, including France. Likewise, all of the major news outlets have provided focused coverage of the recent events in France.
Many questions remain: Will a conditional peace between the European Union and France have a positive impact on the lives of immigrant Roma, including thousands of children? Will the European Union continue to address the problems of all Romani people, in France and throughout the EU, now that the “pressure” is seemingly off? Will the major news outlets abandon alleged human rights violations against the Roma, and all Romani subgroups, now that the intensity of a showdown between France and the EU has subsided?
Recent Events Affecting Roma in France
19 October – France agrees to pass legislation in 2011 to require the issuing of written expulsion orders and giving people the possibility of appeal prior to expulsion. European Union temporarily suspends its human rights complaint against France.
29 September – France warned by European Union authorities that it will face proceedings if the EU's freedom of movement is not made a part of French law by October 15th.
14 September – The European commissioner of Justice, Viviane Reding, compares France's deportation of Roma to Vichy France's treatment of Jews during the second world war. She claims that Brussel's will have to mount infringement proceedings.
31 August – France defends its position on Roma as it prepares to host a meeting of European interior ministers. Claims it is acting in conformity with the EU's freedom of movement directive.
26 August – EU announces that it will investigate claims that France has been illegally deporting immigrant Roma.
30 July – Major news outlets begin intense coverage of alleged discrimination against Roma. Majority of coverage is focused on France but other problem areas are noted as well: Rome – destruction of 200 illegal Roma camps; Copenhagen - requested government assistance to deport up to 400 Roma; Sweden - police expel Roma in breach of its own and EU laws; Belgium - 700 Roma chased out of Flanders and forced to set up camp in French-speaking Wallonia in the south; Italy - continuing to evict Roma since 2008 “state of emergency; ” Germany - deporting Roma children and adolescents to Kosovo. The Guardian reports that “In eastern European countries that are EU members, such as the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria, accounts are rife of widespread discrimination against Roma, including physical attacks.”
28 July – Sarkozy orders the expulsion of illegal Roma from French territory and the destruction of their camps, intensifying policy that had been in place since 2009.
21 July – French president Nicolas Sarkozy announces meetings to evaluate the Roma sitiuation nationwide and to order the expulsion of all illegal encampments.”
Related Links:
del.icio.us |
Digg
Email to a friend
Print version
Plain text