At least 20,000 Roma live in France. Having fled discrimination in Romania or Bulgaria, the Roma have fared no better in France. They are targeted by vigilante attacks, harassment and more discrimination.
Last January, a Roma camp of 200 people at La Courneuve, north of Paris, was burned down. In February, an eight-year-old girl died when a shantytown in the nearby suburb of Bobigny was set ablaze. In the most recent incident which shocked the country, Darius, a 17-year-old Roma youth from the northern suburb of Pierrefitte-sur-Seine was beaten and left for dead in a supermarket trolley on 13 June by a group of about 20 men from the nearby tower blocks. He is still in a coma. The camp where he lived has now been abandoned. No arrests have been made against the attackers of the youth.
SOS-Racisme said that the attack against Darius reflected “the alarming degradation of the image of Roma, or presumed Roma in our society” and was the “inevitable result of incitement” by public officials.
Mr Prieur works for a local charity, the Collectif de Soutien de Roms à Ivry-sur-Seine, which helps the Roma, says “We may be afraid of them, but they’re scared of the aggression from outside. They are constantly being made to move, which makes their existence even more precarious. Fear is part of their world.” His organisation wants authorities to get rid of the shantytowns and find homes for families, while keeping their children at school. A total of 90 children from the camp attend school.
According to the League of Human Rights and the European Roma Rights Centre, the government evicted a record number of Roma shantytowns last year, expelling 20,000 people – twice as many as in 2012. The entire Roma population in France is estimated at 20,000, but Mr Prieur said the real figure is much larger.
The largest Roma shantytown in Marseilles, where 400 people lived, was dismantled on 18 June. However, the majority of the residents had already left, fearing deportation. Amnesty International denounced the fact that only 18 families would be rehoused, including “dozens of children who until now had been going to school and had a minimum of stability”. More evictions are to take place in mid-July at the Plombières squat in the city, where about 100 Roma live.
From here
Last January, a Roma camp of 200 people at La Courneuve, north of Paris, was burned down. In February, an eight-year-old girl died when a shantytown in the nearby suburb of Bobigny was set ablaze. In the most recent incident which shocked the country, Darius, a 17-year-old Roma youth from the northern suburb of Pierrefitte-sur-Seine was beaten and left for dead in a supermarket trolley on 13 June by a group of about 20 men from the nearby tower blocks. He is still in a coma. The camp where he lived has now been abandoned. No arrests have been made against the attackers of the youth.
SOS-Racisme said that the attack against Darius reflected “the alarming degradation of the image of Roma, or presumed Roma in our society” and was the “inevitable result of incitement” by public officials.
Mr Prieur works for a local charity, the Collectif de Soutien de Roms à Ivry-sur-Seine, which helps the Roma, says “We may be afraid of them, but they’re scared of the aggression from outside. They are constantly being made to move, which makes their existence even more precarious. Fear is part of their world.” His organisation wants authorities to get rid of the shantytowns and find homes for families, while keeping their children at school. A total of 90 children from the camp attend school.
According to the League of Human Rights and the European Roma Rights Centre, the government evicted a record number of Roma shantytowns last year, expelling 20,000 people – twice as many as in 2012. The entire Roma population in France is estimated at 20,000, but Mr Prieur said the real figure is much larger.
The largest Roma shantytown in Marseilles, where 400 people lived, was dismantled on 18 June. However, the majority of the residents had already left, fearing deportation. Amnesty International denounced the fact that only 18 families would be rehoused, including “dozens of children who until now had been going to school and had a minimum of stability”. More evictions are to take place in mid-July at the Plombières squat in the city, where about 100 Roma live.
From here
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