MPs demand France ‘suspend’ Roma expulsion

FRANCE came under fresh fire for expelling Roma migrants yesterday as the European Parliament demanded it “immediately suspend” removal of the Gypsies.

It was the second time this week that Euro MPs had taken the floor to lambast President Nicolas Sarkozy’s stance on the issue while debating the plight of Roma across Europe in general.

However, France’s Immigration Minister, Eric Besson, in Bucharest for talks with Romanian authorities on the issue, hit back immediately, saying there was “no question” of Paris complying.

The resolution condemning France, adopted by 337 votes to 245, expressed “deep concern at measures taken by France and other member states targeting Roma and Travellers”. Without naming Germany, which has expelled Roma as well, or Italy, which has destroyed several illegal camps, it urged “those authorities immediately to suspend all expulsions of Roma”.

Sarkozy’s decision in August to dismantle unauthorised Gypsy encampments and fly Eastern European Roma home to Romania and Bulgaria following a public order incident topped much of the agenda of this week’s session of the 736-member parliament. Turnout was high and members waved banners saying “Equal Rights for All” during the vote on the resolution, a joint motion put to the parliament by left and centrist parties.

A separate motion put by conservatives and euro-sceptics that did not explicitly condemn France failed to muster support.

The resolution adopted emphasised “the right of all EU citizens and their families to free movement and residence throughout the EU, a right which is a fundamental aspect of EU citizenship”. It stressed that “mass expulsions are prohibited” under EU law, “since they amount to discrimination on the basis of race and ethnicity”.

The parliament, it added, “is deeply concerned, in particular, at the inflammatory and openly discriminatory rhetoric that has characterised political discourse during the repatriations of Roma”.

Besson retorted that parliament was out of line and “of course we are not going to submit to a political diktat”.

“I want to say very clearly that there is no question of France suspending returns to countries of origin, whether they are Romanians, Bulgarians or any other nationality.”

France touched off an international storm in August for ordering police to clear away unauthorised Gypsy camps after French Travellers, angered by a police shooting, went on the rampage in a small town. While French-born Gypsies were moved on, Eastern European Roma unable to prove they had the means to integrate into mainstream society were flown back home by the hundreds to Romania and Bulgaria.