Roma Situation in France

People with Roma origins can be divided in several groups: the sedentary people of Roma origins, the migrant Roma people and the itinerant gypsies.

 

The Sedentary people with Roma Origins: it is unknown but in France, most of the people of Roma origin are sedentary and are well included in the society.

 

The migrant Roma people: Another part of people of Roma origins face much more difficulties: the migrant Roma people. Their situation is still very complicated. Even if this is a small minority, they are confronted with a large number of discrimination acts, their inclusion is a difficult process and their living conditions are still very unsafe.

This migrant community is coming from the eastern part of Europe, but most of them face significant difficulties in their hosting countries as well (in France for example). They mostly live in small shanty towns and are forced to move from one to another because of the expulsion from local and national authorities.

Living conditions and health: they live in very bad conditions; lack of water sources, no electricity, few possibilities for education, no sanitary conditions, no security or enough money to pay health insurance. The only place they could take a shower is not available because of the lack of space. This situation seriously exposes children and pregnant women to illnesses.

Roma people have very often been accused of benefiting from the socials aids, but the real situation is that they can’t benefit from them as they don't live in legal settlements and they don’t have regular addresses or receipts of accommodation, the documents needed in order to finalize an application for social benefits. Moreover, in order to receive the aid for accommodation, for example, insurance is required. As the income of Roma people is very low, they cannot afford to pay it.

 

 

Un camp de Roms en France, près de Paris

http://francais.rt.com/france/2398-france-onu-roms

 

It must be said that their conditions are worsened by the fact that they are often the victims of discrimination and deportations which don’t let them settle in a single place. These deportations are a consequence of Roma people not living in proper houses, but in illegal camps located on private proprieties, pay-stations, sidewalks, next to churches or under bridges. They drop waste around the buildings where the local population lives, and the camps give an image of poverty to the city.

The itinerant gypsies: they are also discriminated because of their origins and the lifestyle. Even if some laws offer them more opportunities than those during the last century, they still face many difficulties (education, health, discrimination …).

Several organizations are working on offering the support to these communities, to help them fight against the discrimination, and they tend to favor their inclusion (in education, health, employment …) but there is still a lot to do as their situation is not resolved at all.  

 

References:

Amnesty International, 2013, Condamnés à l'errance, les expulsions forcées de Roms en France [online], France, [2013], Amnesty International, available at: http://www.amnesty.fr/sites/default/files/Rapport_Expulsions_forc%C3%A9es_de_roms_en_France_260913.pdf