Thousands of Roma 'made homeless' in France in 2016

More than six in 10 Roma families forcibly evicted as persecution against community rises, civil rights groups report.

More than 10,000 Roma were forcibly evicted by French
authorities last year, with most ejections taking place 
during the cold winter months, according to a new report.

The European Roma Rights Centre and the Ligue des
 droits de L'Homme (Human Rights League of France) 
said on Tuesday that at least 60 percent of Romani 
families in the country were forced to leave their dwellings.

The majority of the recorded evictions took place without 
a court decision, and in most cases adequate alternative
accommodation was not offered to those made homeless,
the groups said in a joint report .

"France's policy of ethnically targeted evictions creates 
cycles of repeat evictions and forced removals," the report said.

"It is also a significant squandering of financial and
administrative resources. It is not only a morally bankrupt
strategy, but one that is not in the best interests of taxpayers
whose contributions could far better be deployed to invest in
social assessments and sustainable solutions for housing."


Almost 3,000 Roma were forced from their camps between
October and December, a 17 percent increase from the
previous quarter.
"Many Roma were evicted multiple times in 2016," the report
said. "This unsustainable practice only worsens deep poverty
and neglects the underlying housing problems."

Between 15,000 and 17,000 Roma live in poor conditions
with little access to water and electricity in makeshift, illegal
camps across France, according to the country's national
census and NGOs.

Authorities often cite sanitary reasons for dismantling the
camps.

Catrinel Motoc, anti-discrimination campaigner for 
Amnesty International, told Media: "We have repeatedly
 called on the French authorities ... to put an end to forced evictions and take a series of measures that would enable Roma to benefit from their right to adequate housing and 
not to be discriminated, as guaranteed by numerous international and regional human rights obligations that France ratified."

In June 2016, several organisations and agencies - 
including the Council of Europe and the United Nations 
High Commissioner for Human Rights - warned local authorities across the continent to provide Roma with "sustainable" housing, saying that children were at particular risk of trauma and social isolation because of evictions.



Terrorist  attacks

In addition to being made homeless, Roma often face
discrimination.

"Many incidents of hate speech and cases of
 discrimination against Romani people were reported," the groups said, which confirmed the need for policy "to 
address the plight of a stigmatised and deeply impoverished population to ensure ... equal access to basic services".

Tuesday's report highlighted several racist attacks, 
including one in December against Jewish and Roma at the Anne Frank nursery school in an eastern suburb of Paris, Montreuil.

In an act of vandalism, "Juden verboten" (Jews forbidden) 
andn"Sales Juifs et Roms" (Filthy Jewish and Romani people),
were found painted on the front gate of the Anne Frank
nursery, the report noted.

Between 10 and 12 million Roma are estimated to live
 in Europe, with most in eastern parts of the continent.

With ancestral roots in India, the Roma migrated to 
eastern Europe in the 10th century and have been 
persecuted throughout history.

After the fall of the Soviet Union and the break-up of
Yugoslavia, many travelled west seeking to escape poverty
and discrimination.

In 2010, the European Union criticised France over a
crackdown on illegal Roma camps launched by then 
President Nicolas Sarkozy.

In the same year, thousands of Roma were deported to
Romania and Bulgaria from France.