08.08.2014 France: more evictions of informal settlements

Several French newspapers reported on the eviction of two informal Rroma settlements in Grigny, in the department of Essonne. On August the 5th, at 7 o’clock in the morning, the French authorities began the evacuation of the camp. Around 100 people were still present. The two settlements housed up to 300 people. 30 people will be included in an integration project, which will helps them to find jobs, to enrol their children in school and to improve their French skills. The remaining displaced persons were offered temporary accommodation. However, this does not resolve their problems. Most of those affected have already been evicted several times. Eighteen months ago, they had been driven off the neighbouring village. Nicolas Covaci, a former resident of the camp, complains: “You always, always get displaced. Nonetheless you work. There are ten families who have worked here regularly” (Francetv info 2014, compare Europe1 2014, Le Figaro 2014, RTL France 2014). One has to emphasise that the evictions of settlements complicate a long-term integration of the Rroma immigrants. Through the evictions, the pending problems and the question of integration are simply moved from one location to the next, but not resolved. Normally, new settlements are rebuilt after a very short time. With the media focus on the informal settlements, one suggests that there are only Rroma belonging to the underclass and who are poorly educated. However, according to estimations of the Rroma Foundation, around 100,000 to 500,000 Rroma are integrated and live unobtrusively in French society. The French media, the public and politics continuously neglect them.