FROM FRANCE 24
A group of angry residents of a Marseille suburb has forced a group of Roma (Gypsy) families to move on from their temporary camp, before burning everything that they had left behind.
By FRANCE 24
Residents of a housing estate in the southern French city of Marseille forced a group of Roma (Gypsy) families that had installed themselves nearby to move on, before burning all that remained of their encampment, local press reported on Thursday.
According to La Provence newspaper, police were called to separate dozens of the residents from the Roma families, who left the site in Marseille’s 15th arrondissement (district) “without violence”, police said.
Everything that was left behind was gathered up and burned. Police said no arrests were made and that there had been no violence.
The locals, according to La Provence, had forewarned the authorities that they would be taking action against the estimated 35 Roma who had installed themselves there a few days before.
Samia Ghali, who is mayor of the city’s northern 15th and 16th arrondissements, told AFP a delegation had gone to see her on Thursday morning, complaining of burglaries and that the Roma “had tried to enter buildings and made everything dirty”.
The direct action by locals in Marseille comes as France’s newly-elected Socialist government is under fire for continuing the much-criticised policy of former rightwing President Nicolas Sarkozy of dismantling Gypsy camps and “repatriating” Roma travellers to Romania and Bulgaria.
An estimated 15,000 ethnic Roma, mostly originating from Bulgaria and Romania, currently live in makeshift camps across France.
The government moved last month to appease critics of its policy by announcing that it would ease restrictions on Bulgarian and Romanian migrants' access to the jobs market.
But it said the dismantling of camps would continue, despite calls from some ministers and human rights groups for them to be stopped unless alternative accommodation was arranged first.
(FRANCE 24)
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So my main question is WHAT THE EFF CONSTITUTES VIOLENCE.
Morgan
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TENSIONS RISE IN FRANCE AFTER ROMA CAMP TORCHED.
FROM PANTAGRAPH.COM
http://www.pantagraph.com/news/world/europe/tensions-rise-in-france-after-roma-camp-torched/article_a054701b-6caf-54c3-a409-155d5752b809.html
Advocates for Roma in France called Saturday for international protests to support the ethnic minority, two days after a group of residents in the southern city of Marseille expelled about 50 Roma from their camp and burned the site.
The residents blamed the Roma for a series of local burglaries. There is widespread political debate about France's treatment of the Roma, who are also known as Gypsies and who face discrimination across Europe. The French government dismantled dozens of camps over the summer, but vigilante acts such as the expulsion in Marseille are rare.
A French association representing Roma wants protests already planned in 15 countries on Oct. 7 to give a voice to the minority, saying they want to "reclaim the right to be legitimately heard."
Another group, called The Voice of the Roma, wrote an open letter Saturday to the mayor and Samia Ghali, another local official who got involved in the dispute, accusing them of pandering to the far-right. "Since you can't weigh the gravity of your words, can't you at least be quiet?" the letter said.
Ghali, who drew attention this summer by asking the federal government to send troops to Marseille to combat crime and violence there, has said she doesn't agree with the decision of residents to take matters into their own hands against the Roma.
"But I understand their exasperation. I met with them Thursday morning. They told me they'd had it with the thefts and the excrement everywhere," she said in an interview with Le Figaro newspaper.
On Thursday night, the residents forced the Roma out.
A French association representing Roma wants protests already planned in 15 countries on Oct. 7 to give a voice to the minority, saying Saturday they want to "reclaim the right to be legitimately heard."
French Interior Minister Manuel Valls, who was instrumental in the summer campaign to dismantle the Roma camps, released a statement late Friday calling on local and national officials not to exploit the situation. He also offered the reminder that "only police can resort to force, and only under the law, to carry out legal decisions or protect populations in potential danger."
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AND FINALLY, WATCH THIS VIDEO.
ANTI SOCIAL BEHAVIOR INDEED. WHO IS ANTI SOCIAL. THOSE SLEEPING OR THOSE WHO BURN THE CAMP.
ECHOES OF HITLER AGAIN.
WE ARE REALLY SICK OF IT.
MORGAN
http://youtu.be/UTJiPSH205M
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