• Submitted by: manso
• international
• 09 / 06 / 2010

---

Tens of thousands attended rallies in Paris and 130 other French cities and towns to protest at the government's policy of deporting Roma people. Police estimated the turnout in Paris at about 12,000, but organizers put the figure nearer to 50,000.

About 1,000 Roma, also known as Gypsies, were returned to Romania and Bulgaria from France last month, while official figures show that 11,000 Roma were expelled from France last year. The League of Human Rights, which called for the demonstrations, said it wanted to counteract government "xenophobia" and what it described as the systematic abuse of Roma in France.

The government's policy on the Roma is not a new one but the debate is building and becoming increasingly divisive. Saturday's demonstrations show there are people in France who are concerned at what is being done in their name.

The rallies on Saturday were supported by the opposition Socialist Party and the General Confederation of Labour, the CGT, France's second largest trade union confederation.

Demonstrators also gathered in front of the French consulate in Barcelona, Spain, to condemn President Sarkozy, and a protest was held in front of the French embassy in the Belgian capital, Brussels. Roma solidarity rallies were also held on Saturday in the Serbian capital of Belgrade and in Budapest, the Hungarian capital.

 Source: RHC