19.07.2014 Forced expulsion of Rroma in Meaux

Duplan (2014) reports on the eviction of 75 to 150 Rroma who had lived in Meaux, in the Île-de-France, on an abandoned industrial wasteland. The new owner of the site, who purchased the property recently, requested the eviction of the property by the mayor. The lawyer of the displaced persons labelled the action as being illegal: “This arrangement is miserable and illegal, rants Julie Launois-Flacelière, the lawyer of the expellee. The president of the tribunal of Meaux declared herself competent of the matter, although she didn’t had to do it. Usually, it is the district court that must become active, because this concerns the evacuation of a building.” In the ordinance that forces the Roma to leave their refuge, only five residents of the occupied house are mentioned. The security forces, however, evacuated all of them: 145 people “who were not able to defend themselves before the hearing”, said Madame Launois-Flaceliere.” Since barely a week had passed between the act of the bailiff and the supposed hearing, the lawyer has filed an appeal before the court. On the part of the prefecture, one points out that the safety rules had not been adhered to on the site, there were in fact real dangers to residents. The argument to have acted for the good and the security of the displaced persons is found in many forced evictions in France. It cannot hide the fact that the welfare of the Rroma was not the priority of the major’s office. Otherwise, one would have indeed corrected these issues. In the French press, one only reads of Rroma living illegal settlements or occupied houses. That these visible Rroma constitute only a minority of all Rroma in France – according to estimates of the Rroma Foundation between 100,000 and 500,000, who predominantly live integrated, is completely negated by the journalists. In addition, the continuous evictions of immigrant Rroma complicate the integration considerably.