France kicks out gypsies with payoffs of £250 each
THE forced deportation of hundreds of gypsies began in France yesterday with 93 of them being paid £250 each to fly home.
Nicolas Sarkozy’s government has pledged to deport whole gypsy communities with riot police smashing up their illegal camps.
More than 50 camps have already been demolished and residents moved into temporary shelters. Opponents have accused the French authorities of racism and of acting like the Nazis during the Second World War occupation.
Others claimed that the deported gypsies, all Romanians, would simply pick up the £250, enjoy a trip home, and then return to France.
Mothers and their children were among 14 who left Paris yesterday bound for Bucharest, while a further 79 left Lyon in south-east France.
President Sarkozy is hoping that 700 Roma gypsies will be flown out of the country by the end of this month.
A government spokesman said their camps were “sources of illegal trafficking, of profoundly shocking living standards, of exploitation of children for begging and of prostitution and crime”.
The spokesman added that the demolitions and expulsions “fully conform with European rules and do not in any way affect the freedom of movement for EU citizens, as defined by treaties”.
Each gypsy is given 300 euros in cash – about £250 – while each child will get 100 euros, about £80.
Asked what would prevent the deported gypsies returning later, the spokesman said: “Nothing.”