Dozens of Roma rights groups protested in front of the French Embassy in Bucharest, Romania, on Monday holding up banners saying: “Stop Sarkozy, Stop expulsions“ and ”Roma are European citizens.” Similar protests took place across many cities in Europe during the weekend.
Traumatized Roma have condemned the recent expulsions of Roma immigrants from France to Romania and Bulgaria. In July, the French government ordered a crackdown against thousands of Roma living in makeshift camps across France.
French union activists, human rights supporters, and anti-racist organizations started a one-week protest last Saturday, declaring opposition to Sarkozy’s recent plans for a new pension reform and the newly adopted security measures.
Thousands of people took the streets in Paris, Bordeaux, Marseilles, and Toulouse as well as in other European cities to protest against the governments’ social policies.
Union leaders in France threatened the mass protests would expand to schools, public transport, and telecommunications.
In Rome, the Serbian capital of Belgrade, and in Brussels, the seat of the European Parliament, dozens of banners were erected to protest France’s mistreatment of the Roma people. Nearly 12 million Roma live in the territory of the 27 member states of the European Union.
France’s new security measures came after several clashes between Roma rioters and police. President Sarkozy said that the Roma “problem” threatens public order and safety and ordered the disbandment of 300 Roma camps.
The demonstrations have been supported by the opposition socialist party, the General Confederation of Labor, and the French Human Rights League. They groups voiced their disagreement with the expulsions calling it a “systematic abuse of Roma in France.”
Human rights watchdogs say Sarkozy’s campaign inspires xenophobic attitudes across Europe and strives to regain popularity ahead of the presidential elections in 2012. At the same time, legal experts question the legality of the expulsions.
According to European law, European Union citizens can stay as long as they like in any member-state if they have “enough” money and a medical insurance. Also, EU citizens cannot be considered to be living “illegally” within the territory, as they possess IDs issued by a EU member-state.
Traumatized Roma have condemned the recent expulsions of Roma immigrants from France to Romania and Bulgaria. In July, the French government ordered a crackdown against thousands of Roma living in makeshift camps across France.
French union activists, human rights supporters, and anti-racist organizations started a one-week protest last Saturday, declaring opposition to Sarkozy’s recent plans for a new pension reform and the newly adopted security measures.
Thousands of people took the streets in Paris, Bordeaux, Marseilles, and Toulouse as well as in other European cities to protest against the governments’ social policies.
Union leaders in France threatened the mass protests would expand to schools, public transport, and telecommunications.
In Rome, the Serbian capital of Belgrade, and in Brussels, the seat of the European Parliament, dozens of banners were erected to protest France’s mistreatment of the Roma people. Nearly 12 million Roma live in the territory of the 27 member states of the European Union.
France’s new security measures came after several clashes between Roma rioters and police. President Sarkozy said that the Roma “problem” threatens public order and safety and ordered the disbandment of 300 Roma camps.
The demonstrations have been supported by the opposition socialist party, the General Confederation of Labor, and the French Human Rights League. They groups voiced their disagreement with the expulsions calling it a “systematic abuse of Roma in France.”
Human rights watchdogs say Sarkozy’s campaign inspires xenophobic attitudes across Europe and strives to regain popularity ahead of the presidential elections in 2012. At the same time, legal experts question the legality of the expulsions.
According to European law, European Union citizens can stay as long as they like in any member-state if they have “enough” money and a medical insurance. Also, EU citizens cannot be considered to be living “illegally” within the territory, as they possess IDs issued by a EU member-state.
