Casabianca (2013) reports on the eviction of a Rroma camp on the river Var, in the Cote d’Azur. Despite protests and support from organizations such as Amnesty International, the local Rroma had to leave their camp. Bulldozers from the commune then cleared the camp that was under a bridge next to the river. Critics complain that this ripped schooled children away from their classes, and that it went against a successful integration despite the precarious sanitary conditions.

To date, no alternative accommodation was found for those affected. Eric Ciotti, UMP deputy, on the other hand showed his inflexible stance towards Rroma: “Leur place est en Roumanie et en Hongrie, pas dans les Alpes-Maritimes. […] Europe a donné 20 milliards d’euros à ces pays pour qu’ils intègrent correctement les Roms. Il faut que ce gouvernement socialiste fasse preuve de fermeté ou exige que ces pays sortent de l’Europe. Parce qu’on ne va pas laisser des bidonvilles s’installer un peu partout aux portes de nos agglomérations” [Their place is in Romania and in Hungary, not in the Alpes-Maritimes … Europe gave 20 billion euro to these countries so that they properly integrate Rroma. The socialist government needs to show firmness or request that those countries leave the European Union. Because we will not tolerate new slums near our agglomerations] (Nice Matin, 2013).

Sources:

• Casabianca, Pierre-Olivier (2013) Les Roms installés sur la rive gauche du Var quittent leur campement. In: France 3 online vom 17.5.2013. 
• Nice Matin (2013) Les Roms des rives du Var en sursis. In: Nice Matin vom 15.5.2013. 

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