ianstone
09-04-2010, 01:34 PM
4 September 2010 Last updated at 17:15
Protests against Roma expulsions held in France
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/48983000/jpg/_48983464_jex_798389_de28-1.jpg Click to play
Click to play
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11186592#play)
Demonstrators march through Paris to the sound of Roma music and drums
Thousands of people have been attending rallies in Paris and 130 other French towns to protest at the government's policy of deporting Roma people.
Police estimated the turnout in Paris at about 12,000, much fewer than anticipated, but organisers put the figure nearer to 50,000.
Opinion polls suggest at least 65% of French people back government policy.
Continue reading the main story (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11186592#story_continues_1) Related stories
Security moves test France's ruling party (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11155180)
Q&A: France Roma expulsions (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11027288)
However, amid European criticism, the EU parliament is to debate the Roma situation in Europe next week.
About 1,000 Roma (Gypsies) returned to Romania and Bulgaria from France last month, while official figures record that 11,000 Roma were expelled from France last year.
The League of Human Rights, which called for the demonstrations, said it wanted to counteract government "xenophobia" and what it described as the systematic abuse of Roma in France.
Continue reading the main story (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11186592#story_continues_2) “Start Quote
We are pushing away people that have a history of being pushed away”
End Quote Jane Birkin Actress
'Pushed away'
Trade unionists, students, anarchists, illegal immigrants and others turned out in Paris to the sound of whistles and drums.
Addressing the demonstration, actress Jane Birkin said it was up to the French public to stand up for the rights of the Roma people.
"We are pushing away people that have a history of being pushed away," she said.
"We have to defend them because they don't have enough of a voice. We have more of a voice than them. We have to be supportive."
Continue reading the main story (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11186592#story_continues_3) Analysis
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/48983000/jpg/_48983840_jex_798425_de22-1.jpg Christian Fraser BBC News, Paris
The government's policy on the Roma is not a new one but the debate is building and becoming increasingly divisive.
Saturday's demonstrations show there are people in France hugely concerned at what is being done in their name.
But the protesters are also a minority. President Nicolas Sarkozy says his government's actions fully comply with EU law on migration and human rights, even though there has been a concerted effort to link illegal Roma camps with rising crime.
Opponents say that amounts to racism and hardly stands scrutiny.
One of the protesters in Paris, Visier Flarent, accused the government of "trying to throw out people from France just because they are living out of the street".
He told the BBC that the government was trying to "divide French people" because of the country's economic difficulties.
In the southern city of Toulouse, the local president of the League of Human Rights, Pascal Nakache, said the French government had gone too far.
"There are a large number of people beyond the usual militant base that have been profoundly shocked who want to demonstrate their exasperation and their refusal of this incendiary and xenophobic policy," he said.
The rallies are being backed by the opposition Socialist Party and the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), France's second largest trade union confederation.
Demonstrators also gathered in front of the French consulate in Barcelona, Spain, to condemn President Sarkozy, and a protest was held in front of the French embassy in the Belgian capital, Brussels.
Roma solidarity rallies were also held as far away as the Serbian capital Belgrade and Hungarian capital Budapest.
'Respecting the law'
France began a high-profile campaign of clearing large numbers of illegal Roma camps last month, as part of a security crackdown announced by Mr Sarkozy.
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/48981000/jpg/_48981375_48858695.jpg Mr Sarkozy has faced dissent from his own cabinet on the issue
The move was announced after a number of incidents of violence targeting the police.
In mid-July, riots erupted in Grenoble after police shot an alleged armed robber during a shootout.
The next day, dozens of French Roma attacked a police station in the small Loire Valley town of Saint Aignan, after police shot dead a French Roma man who had allegedly not stopped at a police checkpoint.
The mass expulsions have drawn criticism from the Vatican and the UN, and President Sarkozy has also faced dissent from within his own cabinet.
Prime Minister Francois Fillon hinted that he disliked the crude links being made between foreigners and crime, while Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said he considered resigning over the issue.
Earlier this week, the European Commission criticised France over its expulsions of Roma, saying it did not put enough emphasis on the individual circumstances of those facing expulsion.
Under EU rules, the state can expel people who have been in the country for at least three months without a job or are a social burden. They can also be expelled within three months of their arrival if they are deemed to be a threat to public security
Protests against Roma expulsions held in France
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/48983000/jpg/_48983464_jex_798389_de28-1.jpg Click to play
Click to play
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11186592#play)
Demonstrators march through Paris to the sound of Roma music and drums
Thousands of people have been attending rallies in Paris and 130 other French towns to protest at the government's policy of deporting Roma people.
Police estimated the turnout in Paris at about 12,000, much fewer than anticipated, but organisers put the figure nearer to 50,000.
Opinion polls suggest at least 65% of French people back government policy.
Continue reading the main story (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11186592#story_continues_1) Related stories
Security moves test France's ruling party (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11155180)
Q&A: France Roma expulsions (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11027288)
However, amid European criticism, the EU parliament is to debate the Roma situation in Europe next week.
About 1,000 Roma (Gypsies) returned to Romania and Bulgaria from France last month, while official figures record that 11,000 Roma were expelled from France last year.
The League of Human Rights, which called for the demonstrations, said it wanted to counteract government "xenophobia" and what it described as the systematic abuse of Roma in France.
Continue reading the main story (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11186592#story_continues_2) “Start Quote
We are pushing away people that have a history of being pushed away”
End Quote Jane Birkin Actress
'Pushed away'
Trade unionists, students, anarchists, illegal immigrants and others turned out in Paris to the sound of whistles and drums.
Addressing the demonstration, actress Jane Birkin said it was up to the French public to stand up for the rights of the Roma people.
"We are pushing away people that have a history of being pushed away," she said.
"We have to defend them because they don't have enough of a voice. We have more of a voice than them. We have to be supportive."
Continue reading the main story (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11186592#story_continues_3) Analysis
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/48983000/jpg/_48983840_jex_798425_de22-1.jpg Christian Fraser BBC News, Paris
The government's policy on the Roma is not a new one but the debate is building and becoming increasingly divisive.
Saturday's demonstrations show there are people in France hugely concerned at what is being done in their name.
But the protesters are also a minority. President Nicolas Sarkozy says his government's actions fully comply with EU law on migration and human rights, even though there has been a concerted effort to link illegal Roma camps with rising crime.
Opponents say that amounts to racism and hardly stands scrutiny.
One of the protesters in Paris, Visier Flarent, accused the government of "trying to throw out people from France just because they are living out of the street".
He told the BBC that the government was trying to "divide French people" because of the country's economic difficulties.
In the southern city of Toulouse, the local president of the League of Human Rights, Pascal Nakache, said the French government had gone too far.
"There are a large number of people beyond the usual militant base that have been profoundly shocked who want to demonstrate their exasperation and their refusal of this incendiary and xenophobic policy," he said.
The rallies are being backed by the opposition Socialist Party and the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), France's second largest trade union confederation.
Demonstrators also gathered in front of the French consulate in Barcelona, Spain, to condemn President Sarkozy, and a protest was held in front of the French embassy in the Belgian capital, Brussels.
Roma solidarity rallies were also held as far away as the Serbian capital Belgrade and Hungarian capital Budapest.
'Respecting the law'
France began a high-profile campaign of clearing large numbers of illegal Roma camps last month, as part of a security crackdown announced by Mr Sarkozy.
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/48981000/jpg/_48981375_48858695.jpg Mr Sarkozy has faced dissent from his own cabinet on the issue
The move was announced after a number of incidents of violence targeting the police.
In mid-July, riots erupted in Grenoble after police shot an alleged armed robber during a shootout.
The next day, dozens of French Roma attacked a police station in the small Loire Valley town of Saint Aignan, after police shot dead a French Roma man who had allegedly not stopped at a police checkpoint.
The mass expulsions have drawn criticism from the Vatican and the UN, and President Sarkozy has also faced dissent from within his own cabinet.
Prime Minister Francois Fillon hinted that he disliked the crude links being made between foreigners and crime, while Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said he considered resigning over the issue.
Earlier this week, the European Commission criticised France over its expulsions of Roma, saying it did not put enough emphasis on the individual circumstances of those facing expulsion.
Under EU rules, the state can expel people who have been in the country for at least three months without a job or are a social burden. They can also be expelled within three months of their arrival if they are deemed to be a threat to public security