1. LATEST UPDATE: 15/09/2010
- FRANCE - ROMA PEOPLE - ROMANIA
Roma in France: Frequently asked questions
As the debate surrounding France's new measures targeting Roma heats up in Europe,
France24.com answers some background questions.
By FRANCE 24 (text)
Who are the Roma?
The Roma are a nomadic people thought to have originated from the Indian subcontinent and to have
emigrated towards Europe from around the 11th century. There are an estimated 15,000 Roma migrants
currently living in France, most of them having moved from Romania or Bulgaria. Many of them live in illegal
camps and make money from odd jobs and begging.
What is the difference between “travelling people” and Roma?
Unlike the term “Roma”, “travelling people” does not designate a specific ethnicity or place of origin.
“Travelling people" is the broad legal term established in 1969 to refer collectively to nomadic communities
on French territory that live in mobile homes or trailers. This category of the population includes people of
various origins – including some who identify themselves as being of Roma descent - but “travelling people”
have both French nationality and a permit allowing them to move freely around the country. The estimate of
15,000 Roma in France therefore does not include “travelling people” who may have Roma ancestors but
also have French nationality.
Why are Roma, as European citizens, being deported from France?
Because they come from EU countries (Romania and Bulgaria), most Roma can enter France without a
visa. But restrictions require that they work or have residency permits if they wish to stay longer than three
months.

2. Why do Roma come to France in the first place?
Roma face discrimination in Bulgaria and Romania, where there have been forced evictions. Poverty,
unemployment, and low literacy levels are common in Roma communities. Many Roma say that they are
able to make more money in France, and that if they are deported they will return as soon as possible.
What incited the recent crackdown?
In July, a gendarme shot and killed a French Roma, 22-year-old Luigi Duquenet, in the Loir-et-Cher region
in north-central France. The next day, dozens of French Roma attacked a police station and burned cars in
the Loire Valley town of Saint Aignan. In response to the events, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called
an impromptu ministerial meeting at which it was decided that 300 illegal camps would be dismantled within
the following few months. Sarkozy released a statement citing the “illegal trafficking”, “shocking living
standards”, and “exploitation of children” in the camps.
Critics of the administration say that the move was an attempt by Sarkozy to boost low approval numbers by
appealing to the conservative voters that helped sweep him to victory in 2007.
Has this kind of crackdown on Roma camps been done before in France?
France has been dismantling illegal Roma camps and deporting their inhabitants for years. The French
government says that around 10,000 Roma were sent back to Romania and Bulgaria last year. The recent
crackdown, however, has been the most highly publicised of such initiatives; the government has talked
about its efforts, and the press, opposition politicians and rights groups have responded.
What has been the reaction at home?
Opinion polls suggest the French public is broadly supportive of the crackdown on illegal camps, but
criticism from rights groups and politicians on both the right and the left has been scathing. One member of
Sarkozy’s ruling UMP party likened the Roma expulsions to the round-ups of French Jews during World
War Two, while Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said he had considered resigning over the deportations
of Roma.
On September 4, tens of thousands rallied in cities across France in protest at the government’s crackdown
on Roma migrants.
What has been the international reaction?
The new measure has drawn a fair amount of negative attention abroad. Romanian President Traian
Basescu said that he was aware that Roma camps in France were an issue that needed to be dealt with,

3. but he also reminded France of the "right of every European citizen to move freely in the EU". In a stinging
rebuke of France’s policy towards Roma, European Parliament members backed a non-binding resolution
calling for an immediate suspension of the deportations. Meanwhile, the UN's Committee on the Elimination
of Racial Discrimination warned of a “resurgence” of racism and xenophobia in France, while a statement
released by the Vatican said: "One cannot generalise and take an entire group of people and kick them
out".
The foreign press also took sceptical note of the new measures, with an editorial in The New York Times
accusing Sarkozy of drumming up anti-immigrant sentiment for political gain.