Category Archives: France

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01.10.2014 The French Rroma policy and the public image of the minority

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Media Part (2014) discusses the public perception and representation of Rroma in France, and its influence on the social interaction with the minority. The notion of Rroma is charged with so many negative attributes that already a small influx of Rroma provokes the anger of local residents. This disables an objective, unbiased interaction with members of the minority as well as policies aimed at integration: “The most often mentioned stereotypes may serve as evidence: these families, attracted by the wealth and the quality of our social security have behaviours not compatible with our lifestyles. Living off begging and theft, they contribute significantly to the growth of daily delinquency that enrages our fellow citizens. They lack hygiene, their collective behaviour makes their proximity unbearable. Their culture and their way of life do not allow, without exception, to integrate them into our society. They do not know or do not accept our rules. In short, for the good of one as the other, they must return to their countries.” This polemic, reductionist perspective Mediapart rightly condemns as intellectual arson that maintains the exclusion of the minority. The author calls for a paradigm shift away from polemical representations of the Rroma towards differentiated, respectful minority politics: “Whatever our faith, our political commitment, our affiliation, our heritage, our way of life, we have to show intelligence and awareness of the past. It is not naivety or pity, but our ability to tolerance and the recognition of the right to allow anyone to live with his/her idiosyncrasies.” In response to the accusation of a one-sided, racist representation, it is often argued that this is not based upon prejudices, but real tangible facts. The Rroma are made responsible for their marginalised status by their own behaviours. This justification is very dangerous as it represents exclusion and poverty as part of cultural characteristics, rather than recognising them as exclusion and poverty. In addition, many Rroma are well integrated and form part of the middle or even upper class. They are completely ignored in the public discourse about the minority. Most journalists do not recognise this last point.

Debot (2014) points out in his commentary to the article that despite the demand for a respectful minority policy, there is still the problem that one mostly speaks about but not with the minority. An adequate minority policy therefore requires a close dialogue with the concerned group. The problem of taking statements of individual Rroma as representative for all of them continues, and does not recognise the differences between the Rroma groups as well as individual opinions. This includes the recognition of stereotypes that cannot always be easily recognised and deconstructed as prejudices by outsiders.

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26.09.2014 Dammarie-les-Lys: informal settlement Rroma being evicted

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The Rroma of an informal settlement in Dammarie-les-Lys, on the Île-de-France, will have to leave their dwellings by December 8th. A local court decided it. Around 100 people had settled on a community plot that, among other things, encompasses a dilapidated building. In this unoccupied house and around the building, the immigrants settled down on June 12th. Functioning sanitary facilities were not available. Several of the children are enrolled in local schools. Their future education is now being threatened: “They have the right to three months extension on the site”, adds Myriam Leroux, of the association “Essonnian solidarity for the Roma and Romanian families” (ASEFRR), a member of the collective Romeurope. She is accompanying them since their expulsion from the neighbouring department of Essonne. “They are all rag pickers. They sell at the flea markets of Montreuil on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Otherwise, they live by begging. The women makes 5 to 10 Euros a day. What to eat from. They are also enrolled in the Restos du Coeur [a French soup kitchen]”, she says. And afterwards, where will they go? “For them it is the system-D [self-help]!” It should be stressed that forced evictions of informal settlements complicate a long-term integration of the Rroma immigrants. Due to the expulsions, the problems and the integration question are simply moved from one location to the next, but not solved. Also, due to the media’s and aid organisations’ focus on informal settlements, one suggests that Rroma are exclusively belonging to the lower class and are poorly educated. According to estimates of the Rroma Foundation, 100,000 to 500,000 Rroma are integrated and live unobtrusively in French society. They are completely hidden from the French public. The recently immigrated Rroma from Eastern Europe constitute only a small portion of all Rroma residents in France (compare Bordier 2014).

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26.09.2014 Integration of immigrant Rroma in Douaisis

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Labreigne (2014) reports on the successful integration of immigrant Rroma families in Douaisis, in the region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais. Five Rroma families were accepted on probation and under restrictive requirements into subsidised housing for one year. Now, they will be offered a normal lease and the restrictions will be removed: “For the price of a long accompanying work, through human and financial resources that were committed to their follow-up, the five Roma families that are accommodated in Douai, Lallaing, Sin-le-Noble and Flers-en-Escrebieux are now “on the rails of integration, ready to pursue their professional and family adventure in the district: not only are they integrated into their accommodation, but they also have proved their ability to work. We could give them rights, in relation to social security and towards the CAF [Caisse d’allocations familiales], because they are able to pay. It is therefore not necessary that they remain in this system, justified Jacques Destouches.” The successful integration of the five families is also a good counter-evidence to the prejudice loaded conceptions that Rroma are not capable of integration, the involved people state. The persons responsible are convinced that one could refute xenophobic stereotypes with the project. While this project is commendable, it nevertheless conveys a very limited view of the life of Rroma in France. The recently immigrated Rroma constitute only a small portion of all Rroma in the Republic. The vast majority, according to estimates of the Rroma Foundation 100,000 to 500,000, are integrated and live unobtrusively in French society, and this often for generations. They are the living proof that an integration of the minority is possible, if they are not actively hindered in doing by prejudice and discrimination (compare L’Observateur du Douaisis 2014).

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26.09.2014 Louis de Matignon Gouyon: half of the Rroma children from informal settlements do not attend school

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Louis de Gouyon Matignon (2014) reports on the lack of education of Rroma children who live in the informal settlements of France. The lack of training of the children is partly due to the lack of appreciation of education by some parents, as well as the result of the fear of deportation by the French authorities. But above all, it results from discriminatory practices by French schools. Thus, some schools keep fictitious waiting lists to prevent Rroma from enrolling their children: “It is now assumed that 53% of Roma children do not attend school. The missing schooling of our young fellow Europeans (usually Romanians or Bulgarians) may result from the will of the parents to handle basic needs such as food, shelter or clothing with priority; or missing schooling may also result from a bad attitude or from a lack of funds on the part of schools: some schools apply fictitious waiting lists to discourage parents from enrolling their children. Some individual initiatives, based on private funds, such as the creation of small libraries or the establishment of courses by volunteers, are laudable, but they are not sufficient in order to prevent illiteracy among the Roma.” It must be stressed here that Gouyon Matignon assumes that 50% of Rroma children from the informal settlements do not go to school. This does not mean that half of the integrated Rroma children do not attend school. According to estimates of the Rroma Foundation, 100,000 to 500,000 Rroma are living in France. The vast majority of them is integrated, goes to work and sends their children to school. Gouyon Matignon therefore falsely equates the Rroma from the slums with all Rroma in France, which is not true. Many Rroma can read and write. Gouyon Matignon therefore unintentionally reproduces a stereotypical notion of ​​the Rroma. But he is not alone with that: many other authors and institutions equate the Rroma with the visible Rroma from the slums (compare Pozycki 2014).

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26.09.2014 Lyon: false barriers to displace Rroma were lifted

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Rue89Lyon (2014) reports on the lifting of the barriers that were set up by the authorities of Lyon in the whole city. The barricades had been erected a few weeks ago in all major squares to prevent travelling Rroma from settling down. The reactions and experiences with the barriers were entirely negative, the authorities of Lyon state, this is why the barricades are now being removed. A petition of business people and residents of Lyon had led to the establishment of the controversial barricades: “This Wednesday morning, one could witness that the Place du Pont (another name for this quarter of the seventh arrondissement) had been freshly cleaned and freed from the false barriers. These were supposed to deter populations classified as undesirable to the region (the majority of them Roma from Romania). They gather there every day to try to run an illegal market. [….] The result [of the barriers]: the public space was even more overloaded with rag pickers and their buyers, who still spread everywhere. At the entrance of the supermarket Casino, the passerby had to wander through the illicit market. Not to mention the illegal garbage that accumulated in the interior of the enclosed fences.” The impression that Rroma are to be equated with beggars and illegal traders is completely wrong. Rather, it is a prejudice that almost exclusively immigrant Rroma do illegal trading in public places. As already expressed many times, the recently immigrated Rroma represent only a small portion of all Rroma in France. However, they are the ones with the greatest public visibility, which is why they are often mistakenly perceived as representative for all Rroma. The majority of the minority, according to estimates of the Rroma Foundation 100,000 to 500,000, are integrated and live unobtrusively in French society, and this often for generations. Rroma therefore belong to all social classes and are not to be equated with an underclass. These integrated Rroma are proof that an integration of the minority is easily possible if they are not actively prevented from doing so by prejudice and discrimination (compare Fournier 2014).

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26.09.2014 Roubaix: disagreement on integration assistance for Rroma

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Renoul (2014) reports on a dispute within the Roubaix’ government concerning the integration support of immigrant Rroma. While the social democratic assistant to the mayor, Sylvane Verdonck, actively tries to help Rroma currently living in the former doctor’s office of Dr. Lamarre, and their integration efforts, the liberal-conservative mayor and his security assistant reject this help: “the mayor of Roubaix, Guillaume Delbar (UMP), on Monday expressed his four truths to Sylvane Verdonck (UDI), his assistant for integration. According to our sources, he has lost his confidence in her. In question is an initiative of the deputy, who was been publicly denounced by the mayor’s cabinet and that of the assistant for security, Margaret Connell (UMP). For several months now, Sylvane Verdonck has sought solutions for the Rroma who are housed at Dr. Lamarre. The deputy finally had the idea of a project that combines employment, housing, and citizenship.” The project proposal was not received well by Guillaume Delbar. The UMP-mayor had campaigned, among other things, with the promise to adopt a ban on begging and had actively opposed a second integration village in Roubaix. The head of the social democratic local fraction, Grégory Wanlin, meanwhile announced that they wanted to remind Guillaume Delbar that during the election campaign he had promised to help those Rroma who actively strive to integrate. Once again, it should be stressed that the recently immigrated Rroma account only for only a small portion of all Rroma in France. The vast majority, according to estimates of the Rroma Foundation 100,000 to 500,000, are integrated and live unobtrusively in French society, and this often for generations. They are the living proof that the integration of the minority is possible, if they are not prevented from doing so through prejudice and discrimination.

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17.09.2014 Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina: safe countries of origin for Rroma?

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The daily news of the ARD (2014) reports on the ongoing discussions and protests because of the declaration of Serbia, Macedonia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina as being “safe countries of origin”. Accordingly, the federal government will soon enact a law that puts these three countries on the list of countries safe of persecution. Thereafter, minorities like the Rroma will have very poor chances of obtaining asylum in Germany. This is being criticised especially by social democratic politicians and non-governmental organisations. Recently, the Central Council of German Sinti and Rroma has spoken out. Its chairman, Romani Rose, criticised in his statement that the three countries are anything but safe for Rroma: “In the three countries, the argument goes, there is no persecution, torture, violence or degrading treatment. […] Life for Rroma in Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina is anything but safe, Rose declared. “Large parts of the minority in these countries have no chance in the labour market, they are excluded from any participation in social life.” For Roma, which are merely tolerated in Germany, the implementation of the plans could mean deportation.” While it is true that the Rroma in the Balkans were exposed to little discrimination until 1989, and many of the common stereotypes about the minority originated in Western Europe, this does not mean that the exaggeration of ethnic differences and the marginalisation of the Rroma have not become a real issue since then that affect many members of the minority. The adoption of the new law is due to an increase of asylum applications from Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, which are turned down in the majority of the cases as being unfounded. However, these decisions are also criticised, since individual fates of exclusion and persecution get too little attention and are not considered appropriately due to lack of evidence. The status of safe countries puts administrative estimates about the protection of the civilian population, especially minorities, over the individual experiences of those affected. Whether this is a smart procedure that meets the real-life experiences of victims of discrimination, should be critically assessed. What matters in the end is the individual fate and not the official status (compare Amtsberg 2014, Attenberger/Filon 2014, Die Welt 2014, Ulbig 2014).  

Eastern Europe correspondent Mappes-Niediek (2014) contradicts this opinion: He claims that the Rroma in South Eastern Europe are often affected by poverty, but are not persecuted. In Macedonia and Serbia, the Rroma rather build part of local communities and are found in all social classes and positions. Even the Rromanes is widely accepted in Macedonia: “Traditionally, in Macedonia and Serbia, it is far less disparagingly spoken about Roma than in the neighbouring countries of Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania. The major, wearing his chain of office and shaking hands, attend Roma celebrations. In the newspapers one respectfully speaks of “citizens of Roma nationality”, and ethnic Macedonians also attend Roma pilgrimages. The European cliché that Roma steal is unknown in both countries. […] If Roma are exposed to persecution somewhere in the region, then it is the EU-country Hungary, where right-wing extremist groups inflame the atmosphere, literally hunt for Roma and the police looks the other way. However, from EU-countries no asylum applications are accepted in principle. Even discrimination based on ethnicity is likely to be far less in Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia than what Roma have to endure in Hungary, the Czech Republic or France.” Thereby Mappes-Niediek addresses an important point: the difficulty of assessing the discrimination or acceptance of a minority that is already perceived very one-sided in the public in its entirety and complexity. For Mappes-Niediek, the Rroma in South Eastern Europe are particularly affected by poverty. This is certainly true for a part of the minority. But he also hides a part of reality: in particular the integrated Rroma, which can be found in all the countries of Europe and are not perceived as Rroma by the public. Rroma should not be equated with an underclass. They build part of all strata of society. Regarding the aspect of discrimination, the individual fate should still favoured to a reductionist, generalising assessment: because mechanisms of exclusion in a society cannot be read on a measuring instrument. They are subtly distributed in all spheres of a nation and not necessarily occur in the open.    

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27.08.2014 Rroma settlement in Bobigny: controversy over planned eviction

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The French judges’ syndicate criticised the decision of Bobigny’s mayor to evict the local Rroma settlement in defiance of a judge’s decision from July the 2nd. The judgment rejected a request for eviction by the new mayor by referring to the fundamental rights to accommodation and family life and in recognition of the demands of the European Court of Human Rights. The mayoral decree refers to the allegedly precarious security situation in the settlement, whereby no judicial assessment is necessary. In early February this year, a little Rroma girl of the settlement in question had died, victim of a fire. The judges’ syndicate appraised the planned eviction as undermining of the judiciary: “Contacted by Metronews, the syndicate of judges condemns the strategy of sapping a court judgment: by acting this way, the mayor’s office “changes the judge”. “The mayor has the right to issue this decree and we do not know whether he has filed an appeal against the judge’s decision, which was made on July the 2nd, the syndicate explains, but this way he subverts a judgment.” The mayoral decree is already now controversial and will be studied by a new judge on Monday, as an emergency, at the administrative court of Montreuil at 14:30. “It will be interesting to see how he will judge” assures the syndicate which will observe the verdict with vigilance” (Bonnefoy 2014). For several years,  a debate has raged in France on how to deal with the informal settlements, built by Rroma immigrants. While many politicians from right to left are in favour of a rigorous eviction policy, individual exponents advocate long-term solutions, which aim at integrating the Rroma immigrants. Approximately 200 people live in the settlement of Bobigny. The organisation Ligue des droits de l’homme points out that the children of the camp attend local schools and would be the primary victims of a forced eviction (compare Breson 2014, Le Figaro 2014, Libération 2014). On the evening of August the 26th, it was announced that the administrative court of Montreuil endorsed the decree of the mayor. The settlement can therefore now be evicted at any time (France Bleu 2014, Mediapart 2014).  

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15.08.2014 Saint-Étienne: displaced Rroma live in the streets

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Brancato (2014) reports on the fate of some 200 Rroma who were expelled from their informal settlements in mid-July. Since then, they have been wandering in the streets of Saint-Étienne and are regularly prevented by the authorities from setting up a camp at a new place. The organisation Solidarité Rom calls for a round table with the Rroma and local authorities to discuss the issue of accommodation, employment and integration. Meanwhile, the organization provides the Rroma with the essentials. However, the Saint-Étienne’s government seems to have no interest in integrating the Rroma, as the security advisor of the mayor, Claude Liogier, shows: it is not the duty of the city to find jobs for the Rroma, he states. He adds that he thinks that the lifestyle of the Rroma is very different from the customs of France. Thereby, Liogier reproduces almost an identical reasoning as the one of Manuel Valls at end of last year when justifying the continuous expulsion of Rroma. Liogier does not seem to be aware of that this is an extremely one-sided and politicised interpretation of culture. Pierre Rachet, president of Solidarité Rom, states almost the exact opposite: some thirty Rroma families, who were part of an integration program in Saint-Étienne a few years ago, now live integrated and have steady jobs. Repeatedly, the media suggest that poverty, illiteracy, educational alienation, abundance of children or living in slums are part of Rroma-culture. That these are rather the symptoms of exclusion and socio-economic hardships is hidden most of the time. Rroma belong to all social classes and should not to be equated with an underclass, as it is claimed repeatedly, also by self-appointed Rroma-experts. In France, there are living 110,000 to 130,000 Rroma, the majority of them integrated and since generations. Eventually they should also be addressed in the media (compare Despagne 2014).

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13.08.2014 France: vicious circle of expulsions continues

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Brunet (2014) reports on the whereabouts of some 300 Rroma who were evicted from the informal settlement in Grigny (Essonne). While a small part of them has gone back to Romania, the majority of the people will simply join other settlements or build a new camp in a different location. The vicious circle therefore continues. A long-term integration, to which the Rroma aspire, remains unresolved. Many of the children were enrolled in local schools and now have to interrupt or continue their education in a different class. Paradoxically, the local communist administration strived for an improvement of the infrastructure in the settlement, despite its order for an eviction, which resulted in providing of water supply and in trash removal. Disregarding the suggestion of many organisations that the forced eviction hinder a long-term integration of the Rroma, the mayor of Grigny referred to the precarious conditions in the settlement to justify the forced eviction: “A slum, in Grigny or elsewhere, is not destined to stay forever. It would be contemptuous to think that these families with children can continue to stay there, with the rates, in deplorable hygienic conditions”, decided Claude Vasquez, deputy of Grigny, who is responsible for the dossier.” Nonetheless, the policymakers of Grigny seem to be aware that with the eviction the issue of integration has not been resolved and the situation of the affected families often is exacerbated: “The council of Grigny has filed a motion in July and requested a financial contribution by the state for the implementation of a monitoring project, estimating that “the expulsion of the camp without alternative solutions does nothing other than aggravate the misery and causes their misplacement to other place, often in the vicinity.” The statement of the office of the mayor, which announced that one does not assume that the Rroma will settle again in Grigny after the eviction, is in contradiction with this statement. The goal was move the Rroma out of the slums, it was stated. This would require long-term solutions, such as subsidised integration projects, as they are available only for a small number of people. A long-term integration is therefore not yet realised. It must be added that the thousands of Rroma living in slums do in fact only represent a visible minority of the Roma in France. A majority of 100,000 to 500,000 Rroma have been living integrated in French society for generations, but are not perceived by the public. Meanwhile, the eviction policy continues: in Bron, an informal settlement with 120 people, half of them children, was evicted (compare Blanchet 2014 I/II, Rue89Lyon 2014, Wojcik 2014).

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13.08.2014 Gilles Bourdouleix sentenced because trivialization of the Holocaust

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Gilles Bourdouleix, wha was the mayor of Cholet in the department of Maine-et-Loire from 1995 to 2008, was sentenced to a fine of 3000 Euro for his statements trivialising the Holocaust against the Rroma. Therewith, the court of appeal of Angers confirmed the judgment of the criminal court, which had passed the sentence in January of this year, however this time not suspended. The judgment of the court reads: “With the public uttering in sufficiently audible voice to be perceived (…) his regret that the crimes against humanity perpetrated by the German authorities during the Second World War towards the travellers were not committed long enough, the defendant has in fact made ​​such a glorification” (Delève 2014). The prosecutor, who viewed the offense of glorification of crimes against humanity as proven, called for a prison sentence of 6 months on probation. During a confrontation with travellers that camped illegally on a field of his congregation, Bourdouleix announced: “Hitler may not have killed enough of them.” According to his own statement, the travellers had provoked him with the Hitler salute, which is likewise punishable. A journalist of the newspaper “Le Courrier de l’Ouest”, who was present at the incident, wrote an article about the events and published an audio recording of the statement on the newspaper’s website. Bourdouleix denied all allegations and threatened a lawsuit for defamation. The recording was a manipulated montage, he stated. Bourdouleix’ lawyer stated that they will appeal to the court of cassation. Bourdouleix was forced to resign from the UDI party in response to his Holocaust trivialisation. The maximum penalty for the glorification of the Holocaust is five years in prison and a fine of 45,000 Euros. Bourdouleix was additionally sentenced by the court to pay the organisations La Ligue des droits de l’homme (LDH), Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l’amitié entre les peuples (Mrap), la Fondation pour la Memoire de la Deportation, la Licra und la Fondation nationale des déportés et internés, who had filed the suit against him, one symbolic euro of compensation. – In most of the cited articles, as well as in the verdict, travellers are used synonymously with Rroma. However, most Rroma are sedentary. There are also other ethnic groups which have a minority of travellers, such as the Yeniche, who have European roots (compare 20 minutes 2014, Le Cain 2014, Libération 2014).

  1. 20 minutes/AFP (2014) Son dérapage sur les Roms lui coûte 3000 euros. In: 20 minutes Suisse online vom 12.8.2014. http://www.20min.ch/ro/news/faits_divers/story/29343403
  2. Delève, Elise (2014) Propos anti-Roms : Bourdouleix condamné en appel à 3.000 euros. In: France info online vom 12.8.2014. http://www.franceinfo.fr/actu/justice/article/propos-anti-roms-gilles-bourdouleix-condamne-en-appel-une-amende-de-3-000-euros-548821
  3. Le Cain, Blandine (2014) Propos anti-Roms : l’élu Gilles Bourdouleix condamné en appel. In: Le Figaro online vom 12.8.2014. http://www.lefigaro.fr/politique/2014/08/12/01002-20140812ARTFIG00122-propos-anti-roms-l-elu-gilles-bourdouleix-attend-la-decision-en-appel.php
  4. Libération/AFP (2014) Gens du voyage : le maire de Cholet Gilles Bourdouleix condamné à 3 000 euros d’amende. In: Libération online vom 12.8.2014. http://www.liberation.fr/societe/2014/08/12/bourdouleix-condamne-a-3-000-euros-d-amende-en-appel_1079498?xtor=rss-450
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08.08.2014 France: more evictions of informal settlements

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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.

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01.08.2014 Montpellier: integration village will not be realised

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Dubault (2014) reports on the status of the planned Rroma integration village in Montpellier. Hélène Mandroux,  the reigning socialist mayor of the city until the spring 2014, had initiated the project together with her assistant. The integration village would have cost around 2 million Euros: 20 motivated families, especially willing to integrate themselves would have been selected and been actively supported in their search for work, in improving their language skills, in their children’s education, and in the integration into the community. The newly elected mayor Philippe Saurel and the local council of Montpellier who were voted in the spring of 2014 have shut the project down. The costs are too high, the hoped-for success of the project too uncertain, they stated. Dubault states that stopping the project didn’t cause too much consternation among the collective in support of the Rroma. Most of the other integration projects in the Paris region were also characterised by failure, she concludes. These pessimistic estimates are contradicted by success stories like those of Indre (Loire-Atlantique), which was able to announce almost exclusively positive assessments of its integration project (compare Barbier 2014 Mouillard 2014 I/II). Aid agencies have accused the authorities and politics of deliberately not wanting to promote the integration of the immigrant Rroma, but rather wanting to deport them. In the French media and the French public, one never hears of the estimated 100,000 to 500,000 Rroma living in an integrated fashion, who form part of French society since generations and contribute to it. They are present examples that integration is possible.

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01.08.2014 Nanterre/Aulnay-sous-Bois: more Rroma settlements evicted

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In Nanterre and Aulnay-sous-Bois in the Paris suburbs, more illegal Rroma settlements were evicted following court decisions. The settlement in Nanterre housed 300 to 400 people and was located on a wasteland near a highway and a railway line. When the security forces started the evacuation, there were still about 150 people present on the premises. The prefecture of Nanterre said they had pre-booked 123 hotel beds, from which only nine people wanted to make use of. The lawyer of the Rroma, Julie Launois-Flacelière, applied to the European Court of Human Rights and called for the suspension of the evacuation. However, this had no effect. The city council communicated that maintaining a slum near a highway was not desirable either for the affected families or for the city. In Aulnay-sous-Bois an informal Rroma camp was also evicted. It encompassed about 400 people, including around 100 children, the majority of Romanian origin. François Siebecke, from a local charity, criticised that months of work for the children’s schooling and access to medical care had been destroyed by the eviction. According to the prefecture of Aulnay-sous-Bois, none of the displaced persons demanded alternative accommodation. In the summer months, the number of evictions usually rises significantly. On one side, this has to do with seasonal factors, since one usually admits the residents of the settlements a limited right to remain because of cold winters. On the other hand, some judges consider the enrolment of Rroma children in their decisions and wait with the evictions until the school year has ended (compare Hubin 2014, Le Parisien 2014 Libération in 2014, RTL France 2014). It has to be emphasized that the governmental evacuations of informal settlements significantly complicate a long-term integration of the Rroma migrants. Although the forced evictions solve the short-term problems of the local communities, the actual problems for those affected still remain. Mostly, after a very short period, new informal camps are established at other locations. Through the media focus on illegal settlements, the public gets the impression that there are only Rroma belonging to the lower class, who are poorly educated. However, according to assessments of the Rroma Foundation, an estimated 100,000 to 500,000 invisible Rroma live in an integrated and unobtrusive way in France, many since several generations. They are totally disregarded in the public debate. Rroma should not to be equated with an underclass. They belong to all social classes.

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30.07.2014 France: rigorous expulsion policy is mainly at the expense of Rroma children

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Numerous French newspapers report on the negative impact of the regulatory expulsion policy on immigrant Rroma. The victims are mainly Rroma children whose school education is often poor. Official statistics are not available. In addition to the frequent changes of location, which make it difficult to attend school, bureaucratic obstacles and reservations of mayors hinder the integration of Rroma children. The European Rroma Rights Centre (ERRC) points out this education crisis in a study recently made ​​public: 118 adult Rroma from six informal settlements in Seine-Saint-Denis, Lille, and Marseille were interviewed on the enrolment of their children. 75% of them left their country of origin between 2007 and 2010 to come to France. They are on average expelled twice a year due to forced evictions. The result of the survey is disillusioning: just half of the children go to school. However, the regulation of school attendance in France is clear: all children between the year of six and sixteen must attend school, regardless of whether the parents have valid papers or a fixed domicile. In reality, the officials often require proof of a fixed residential address, although an identity card would be sufficient for enrolment. In 60% of the cases, the lack of a home address is the reason for an absence from schooling, the study by the Rroma Rights Centre states. In the other cases, mayors usually refer to the argument that the classes are full, although they are obliged to create new classes when necessary. In addition, there are negative attitudes of some parents whose children are already enrolled in school and who do not want to have their offspring in a class with many Rroma children. The rejection is therefore clearly xenophobically motivated. If one wants to evict the Rroma settlements, the enrolment of children would counteract this. The judges usually consider the number of children enrolled in their decision about an evacuation of informal settlements. The study also indicates that there are strong local differences: in the Communist-ruled Bobigny, 90% of Rroma children are enrolled in school (compare Chabrout 2014, European Roma Rights Centre in 2014, Le Nouvel Observateur 2014, Piquemal 2014, Vincent 2014, Voyageurs Createures 2014). The media focus on informal settlements suggests that there are only Rroma in France who recently immigrated, belong to the lower class and are poorly educated. However, hundreds of thousands of Rroma have been living for generations integrated and unobtrusively in French society. These invisible Rroma are completely ignored by the media.

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26.07.2014 Rroma settlements along the Tour-de-France evicted

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Various French daily newspapers report on the eviction of informal Rroma settlements along the route of the Tour-de-France. In the opinion critical observers, the closing of the settlements in Bondoufle (Essonne), each housing up to 50 people, is undoubtedly due to the media presentation of the Tour-de-France and the city. These are supposed to appear clean and tidy to the viewers from all over the world. However, the camps were evacuated under the pretext of security flaws and lack of cleanliness, whereby the Tour de France was said to be in danger. The affected Rroma families are now homeless, as no alternative accommodation were offered. The Rroma and the aid organisations are particularly upset because the mayor had insured in January of this year, that the settlements would not be evicted if they were well maintained, would not grow bigger and if the inhabitants actively collaborated with the social services. However, the mayor of Bondoufle, Jean Heart, denied this towards AFP. His statement was supposedly only valid for a single Rroma family. It has to be emphasized that the evacuation of the informal settlements complicates a long-term integration of the Rroma immigrants significantly. With the forced evictions, the problems and the question of integration are simply moved from one location to the next, but not solved. Furthermore, the media focus on informal settlements suggests that there are only lower class Rroma who are poorly educated. According to estimates of the Rroma Foundation, there are 100,000 to 500,000 Rroma living integrated and unobtrusively in French society (Rroma Foundation 2014). They are totally ignored by the French media, the public and politics (compare 20 minutes 2014, Lesacq 2014, Le Parisien 2014, Le Nouvel Observateur 2014, Lemonnier 2014).

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26.07.2014 Stereotypes: fifteen Rroma sentenced for child trafficking

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Numerous French language newspapers reported about the verdict against fifteen Croatian Rroma in Nancy. The Rroma were convicted of inciting their children to commit about a hundred thefts in France, Germany and Belgium. The defendants were sentenced to prison sentences of two to eight years. While all Rroma were convicted for incitement to theft, individual defendants were indicted for trafficking and forced marriages. The court of appeal of Nancy thereby confirmed the judgment of the criminal court. The prosecution demanded maximum sentences of ten years. The evidence of the prosecution was based on the survey of 120 suspects, who confirmed the existence of organised, hierarchical gangs, let by a clan chief: “These children had no choice”, said the prosecutor in front of the audience. “It was not a matter of education and self-realisation, only one thing was important: to steal. It was a downright education to steal. Families borrowed children, according to their potential in theft and even bought wives for their sons to strengthen their teams” (Nicolas 2014, see 20 minutes in 2014, La Dépêche 2014 RTL 2014). The stereotype of criminal, hierarchically organised Rroma clans who commit thefts under the command of a clan chief, is widely spread. It cannot be critically evaluated at this point whether the judgment is justified, as the evidence is only discussed in passing. But it is important to emphasise that Rroma are not more criminal than other ethnic groups. The idea of hierarchical family ties traces back to the projection of the medieval caste system on Rroma and on the equation of Rroma families to criminal organisations. However, this is incorrect. While it is true that the family has an important place among Rroma, its organisation is largely egalitarian. The case discussed here is therefore an exceptional occurrence and not the norm. In addition, the stereotype of arranged marriages is conveyed, which also is only true for a minority of the Rroma. The phenomenon of child trafficking as it is presented here, has furthermore to be critically assessed. As social science studies show, social realities behind begging or alleged child trafficking are largely hidden. Similarly, structural differences between the involved societies and related reasons for a migration to France need to be highlighted. The research conveys a more complex, less black and white notion on the subject and points out that crimes such as incitement to begging or stealing are pervaded by a wide variety of morals views in the analysis and assessment by the authorities. The authorities often deny the perspective and motivations of the persons concerned and impose their own ideas of organised begging, criminal networks or child trafficking on them. Not uncommonly, behind the accusations one just finds impoverished families in which the children supplement the family income by begging, and whose way of life thereby contradict the bourgeois notions of a normal family and childhood (compare Cree/Clapton/Smith 2012, O’Connell Davidson 2011, Oude Breuil 2008).

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23.07.2014 France: more evictions and protests

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RTL (2014) and Le Figaro (2014) report on further evictions of informal Rroma settlements in Saint-Etienne. The authorities of Saint-Etienne evicted two camps with a total of 115 people, including 67 children. The sites of the settlements belonged to the city of Saint-Etienne and to a Turkish club. The displaced persons were informed that they should contact the SAMU. This means that the inter-ministerial circular from August the 26th, 2012, which requires a social diagnosis before the evictions, was not applied. However, the residents of the settlements had  already been asked to leave the premises on November 7th, 2013, through a court order. Pregnant women and families with infants were offered temporary accommodation.

In Nanterre, the eviction from an informal settlement is imminent. The special case of the camp of Nanterre is that already in the 1980s, among nearly identical circumstances, a settlement was evicted. After it became known that the current settlement is to be cleared, four of the residents turned to the European Court of Human Rights. This one criticized the French policy and called the persons in charge to suspend the eviction and to inform the persons concerned on the proposed solutions in a timely fashion. The settlement residents in turn organised a press conference to inform the public about their concerns and to present their stories. In the case of an eviction, they demand appropriate alternative accommodations. In addition, 23 children of the settlement are enrolled in school. One wants to make sure that the children can continue to attend school, which would not be guaranteed in the event of an evacuation. Both the French communist party and the anti-racism organization MRAP fight against an eviction (Urbach 2014). Once again it should be stressed that the evictions complicate a long-term integration of migrants and don’t promote it. Through the evictions, the problems are simply moved from one place to the next, but not solved. In addition, the media focus on informal settlements, the impression is conveyed that there are only Rroma who belong to the lower class and are poorly educated. However, according to estimates of the Rroma Foundation, 100,000 to 500,000 Rroma are living integrated and unobtrusively in French society (Rroma Foundation 2014). They are totally ignored by the public perception.

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19.07.2014 Forced expulsion of Rroma in Meaux

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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.

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18.07.2014 Informal Rroma settlement in Lyon was evicted

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Several French newspapers report on the eviction of an informal Rroma settlement in Lyon. The settlement, which was below and in the vicinity of a railway bridge, was home to about 250 people, including many children and infants, as well as pregnant women. Families with small children and expecting women were offered temporary accommodation. The settlement had been recently created. Most of the residents were living on the site only since a few months, the authorities stated. The anti-racist movement MRAP announced in a communiqué: “The few nights of hotel that the prefecture has proposed to six families cannot replace a correct diagnosis and support to the totality of people present, as the circular [of August 26th, 2012] states, which was signed by Mr. Valls himself when he was interior minister […]. [MRAP] “condemned” that this “forced evictions violate European and international law” and “recalled that France was sentenced several times for the violation of fundamental rights of the Rroma population” (Libération 2014). The ongoing evictions of informal Rroma camps have been criticised for quite some time now. During the summer months, the evictions of Rroma settlements always increase massively. In winter, many communities grant a humanitarian moratorium. Since most of the displaced join other informal settlements, the problem is just shifted from one place to another. Only few long-term solutions have been implemented so far. These include, for instance, the tolerance of the settlements, which enables establishing an existence, enrolling children in school, and the continuous search of a job. Another option is integration programs, which actively foster the social integration of immigrants. However, these are controversial since they specifically refer to Rroma and thereby ascribe the minority a special status. On the 100,000 to 500,000 integrated and invisible Rroma living in France, one almost never hears anything in the French media (compare RTL 2014, Rue89Lyon 2014).

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