So what's going on with the travellers in France ?
Oh boy ! Firstly as part of their security / anti-crime measures, and following some disorder from a gang of Romany lads in a town in the Loire, the government are expelling immigrant Romany people who have no work permits or jobs. Secondly there's been a big dispute here in Bordeaux as 250 caravans kicked out of another town arrived here and installed themselves on playing fields.
Alain Juppé broke his holidays to negotiate a settlement and the folk are temporarily installed on grass verges up near the lake.
People tut and fear a hardening of the line. Remember too that gipsies were deported under the Nazi occupation.
However everyone (except the British?) is expected to carry an identity-card in France, presumably the gipsies included, and there have always been periodic roundups of illegal immigrants or sans-papiers.
All French towns over a certain size are required to set up a site for travellers' caravans. Very few have done so.
Few Roms have actually been flown back to Romania/Bulgaria so far. But it's a worrying problem.
Alain Juppé broke his holidays to negotiate a settlement and the folk are temporarily installed on grass verges up near the lake.
People tut and fear a hardening of the line. Remember too that gipsies were deported under the Nazi occupation.
However everyone (except the British?) is expected to carry an identity-card in France, presumably the gipsies included, and there have always been periodic roundups of illegal immigrants or sans-papiers.
All French towns over a certain size are required to set up a site for travellers' caravans. Very few have done so.
Few Roms have actually been flown back to Romania/Bulgaria so far. But it's a worrying problem.
Comments