06.09.2013 Rroma Debate in France

The forced evictions of illegal Rroma settlements continues in France. Bergès (2013) reports on the upcoming evacuation of the largest Rroma camp in Lille. Bergès, using testimonies criticises the fact that the evacuation are actually more a hindrance on a long-term integration, and that steps taken towards to building one’s own life are thereby made massively difficult or even utterly destroyed. Quite a few of the French politicians, also some from the left, do not in fact want that immigrant Rroma become part of the French society: they propagate the view of the incompatibility of the Rroma culture of with French values and are disturbed by the slums in the suburbs of French cities. However, it is often the residents of the settlements close to the camps that are bothered by the sight of poverty and misery and ask for evictions to take place. Due to the many evictions in recent months, the social problems have not been solved, but simply shifted towards more and more homeless living in large cities such as Paris.