European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance Issues Report on France
21 July 2005
On February 15, 2005, the Council of Europe's ECRI made public its third report on France under its country-by-country analysis of racism and intolerance in each of the member States. ECRI noted in its report that Roma, specifically Travellers, in France may be particularly vulnerable to problems of racism, intolerance and discrimination.
The town of Saint Priest. The sign reads: "Parking forbidden for heavy duty trucks and nomads except in reserved parking areas". This effectively makes it impossible for Travellers and Gypsies to halt anywhere in the town as there are no official halting areas for short-term stay. The only "halting area" in the town is located on a former garbage dump in an industrial zone, far from other city residents, between high risk industrial factories, a train track and road on which heavy duty trucks circulate. The site has been full for decades as it is the permanent home of a few dozen families.
ECRI noted the lack of stopping-places available for Travellers despite laws requiring municipalities to construct such sites (the "Besson Law") and the major inadequacies (e.g. lack of access to water and electricity) of such places where they do exist. ECRI expressed concern regarding recently adopted legislation prohibiting unlawful occupation of land in municipalities which have complied with the Besson law. Persons accused of violating such legislation could face very severe penalties, some of which have already been imposed, such as a six-month prison sentence and confiscation of the offending vehicle. ECRI also noted several areas of concern regarding Roma from the countries of Central and Eastern Europe including unacceptable living conditions and forced evictions. To view the full text of the ECRI report and its recommendations visit the Council of Europe's website at: http://www.coe.int/T/E/human_rights/Ecri/1-ECRI/. Further information on the situation of Travellers and Roma in France can be found on the ERRC's website at: http://www.errc.org.
(ERRC)
