07.03.2014 Francetv info: “Who are the Rroma?”

In a series of five articles, Francetv Info presents the lives of immigrant Rroma in France. Unfortunately, the only Rroma getting a voice already stood in the focus of media attention through the focus on differences to the general population. Baïetto’s (2014) text focuses on the fate of a Rroma family in Champs-sur-Marne. The article accuses the eviction-policy of the French authorities, but at same time confirms stereotypical notions of neglected Rroma that beg and sell scrap metal. In addition, once again only visible Rroma get a chance to speak: “For many families in their situation, scrap iron and begging are the two basic sources of income. The men get up very early in the morning, looking for pieces of metal they can sell. The women beg in the streets of the city and make five or six Euros a day.” The Rroma interviewed emphasize that life in France, in spite of their apparently miserable conditions, is still much better than in Romania. Here they don’t go hungry and the children can attend the school. Since she is living in France, says one Rromni, she had to change her accommodation a dozen times due to forced evictions. This happened in a time period of four years.

Legrand (2014) portrays a young Rrom who left Romania at the age of thirteen. Elvetian works as a middleman. He provides his acquaintances with outlets for objects such as mobile phones or jewellery whose origin are doubtful. In the following section Elvetian tells about his childhood, in which he committed shoplifting and illegal copper collection. He was deported several times, but always travelled back to France, because his entire family lives here. Legrand’s article gives an overview of the difficulties immigrant Rroma face in their attempt to integrate into the labour market and French society. However, her article confirms stereotypes about stealing Rroma, as the have been widely disseminated by the media. Therefore, one cannot describe the selection of the portrayed Rroma as fortunate nor as representative.

The third article deals with a fifteen-year old Rrom who prostitutes himself in front of the Gare du Nord in Paris. He earns twenty to thirty Euros per client, who he usually serves on the toilets of the train station and the surrounding fast food restaurants. He has no pimp, but regular customers. Between thirty and fifty young Rrom prostitute themselves in front of the Gare du Nord, according to the sociologists Olivier Peyroux. One of the reasons for this are the difficulties minors face in finding a regular job. The article paints a picture of prostitution that is practiced out of poverty and lack of alternatives and not equated with human trafficking. Nevertheless, also this article has to be described as one-sided, as it confirms stereotypes of prostituting Rroma (Legrand 2014/II).

The fourth article focuses on the fate of a Rroma family from Timisoara, in north-western Romania. The family of 32-year-old Viktor benefited from an active integration policy, which was conducted between 2000 and 2007 by the agglomeration syndicate Sénart. As a result of the active integration policy, the portrayed family received a council house on the condition that the children regularly attend school, that the parents actively seek work and they would not beg: “At the end of the 1990s, Rroma families settled down in the heart of the new town. Some voters complained and the prefecture decided to try something out. […] Based on their behaviour and their history, the prefecture chose 23 Rroma families and settled them on a site with sanitary facilities.” In return for their active integration efforts, the families received first job offers and residence permits, so that they would be able to raise the necessary funds to purchase regular social housing. In 2007, Sénart stopped its support payments to the families due to lacking funds. Viktor and his family could remain in the social housing thanks to his job in a supermarket. They do not approve the one-sided portrayal of the Rroma in the French media: “I hear pranksters about Romanians in television, rants Viktor. […] If a Romanian causes problems, they equate all Romanians, he complaints. Look at me, I’m working, I have a house and my children go to school, he tells.” The fourth article, concerning the stereotypical representations of Rroma, clearly can be better rated than the other ones. It shows the positive example of a successful integration. However, that there are other integrated Rroma in France, who are living the country since generations or decades, a fact that is not mentioned here either (Baïetto 2014/II).

The fifth article in the series also tries to create a counter-image against stereotypical notions of Rroma. Florin, a Rrom of 25 years, works as a storeman and speaks perfect French. Only as a teenager, when he newly arrived from Romania in France, he was begging. Then he made the acquaintance of a mart trader, for whom he worked illegally for seven years. His girlfriend helped him to learn French. After problems with the residence permit, Florin’s family was one of the few beneficiaries of the infamous, inter-ministerial circular of the 26th August 2012. His parents got a council house and he and his wife a room in a hotel. In September 2013, he finally finds a legal job as a storeman in Rungis. However, he still has no definite residence permit, even though he would like to integrate and live his life in France (Baïetto 2014/III).