With the dust not having settled yet over the issue of the Roma expulsions from France, it is a fortunate development to see that the entire European Union disagreed loudly and the people of this country to have even taken to the streets, in order to manifest their opposition to their president’s decision. It is also characteristic that

keeps loosing large percentages of supporters in public opinion pools. So it was not just by conviction but also an act of personal protection that a number of ministers in the Sarkozy administration have expressed their disagreement over the expulsions, while Prime Minister would not say he agrees.

In reality what happened was quite a personal decision enforced directly by the president. His most probable motive for this was the fact that he faces a series of grave internal choices, ranging from curbing generously the state budget deficits to the financial dead ends in the country’s pension system. So he possibly wanted to keep the public opinion busy with other issues. And in this he succeeded, but at what cost!

On top of this one should not forget that Sarkozy made most of his political capital as minister of Interior in ’s administration, suppressing with an iron hand the revolt of colored youths in Paris and other major French cities “banlieu”. So the acts of aggression against minorities are not at all stranger to the French president. At that time however he managed to win the public opinion to his side. But what was at stake then was a major disturbance of law and order in almost all major French cities, at the quire exception of Marseille. Now however some hundred Roma more in France could not be taken seriously to present any threat to the country’s peace.

On top of this Roma and people never had  such an authoritative treatment in France and the latters are very high in… demand in this county, after a mark of same name “Gitanes” cigarets were produced many years ago, having wan the hearts of the French smoking population with the special aroma and the beautiful packet.

In any case this was a completely wrong move by president Nicolas Sarkozy, who seems to have largely miscalculated its political cost from the reactions from practically all quarters of Europe, specially his own country. This may be another sign that Sarkozy is now in dire straights and usually the politicians of his kind – neurotic and action prone – rush to mistakes when under pressures. The whole thing also reveals that Sarkozy, while trying to save the political conjuncture, did not hesitate to bend not literally the laws but the good traditions of his country vis-à-vis the minorities and those who search for shelter in France. Of course in the bottom of it was not an illegal act by the French administration, to ask the Roma from Romania, a fellow EU country, to register with the police. All EU citizens while living in another state different of their own have, after three months, to register with the authorities. This obligation however is very mush overseen by all member states of EU, including France. More so when it comes to Roma.

In any case it was a bad idea for the Paris government to peak out, out of thousands of EU citizens who stay in France but have not register with the police, some hundreds Roma and send them back to Bucharest. Hopefully this absolutely discretional application of the law will never be repeated. It is utterly undemocratic and introduces a gray division of citizens, according to what the authorities think about them. Besides this the obvious reason for this action by the French authorities was not what was officially alleged, but a much more controversial aim to help politically the government in a difficult position, at the expenses of a handful of poor people.

Read the article on New Europe

No more discretional application of law

With the dust not having settled yet over the issue of the Roma expulsions from France, it is a fortunate development to see that the entire European Union disagreed loudly and the people of this country to have even taken to the streets, in order to manifest their opposition to their president’s decision. It is also characteristic that

keeps loosing large percentages of supporters in public opinion pools. So it was not just by conviction but also an act of personal protection that a number of ministers in the Sarkozy administration have expressed their disagreement over the expulsions, while Prime Minister would not say he agrees.

In reality what happened was quite a personal decision enforced directly by the president. His most probable motive for this was the fact that he faces a series of grave internal choices, ranging from curbing generously the state budget deficits to the financial dead ends in the country’s pension system. So he possibly wanted to keep the public opinion busy with other issues. And in this he succeeded, but at what cost!

On top of this one should not forget that Sarkozy made most of his political capital as minister of Interior in ’s administration, suppressing with an iron hand the revolt of colored youths in Paris and other major French cities “banlieu”. So the acts of aggression against minorities are not at all stranger to the French president. At that time however he managed to win the public opinion to his side. But what was at stake then was a major disturbance of law and order in almost all major French cities, at the quire exception of Marseille. Now however some hundred Roma more in France could not be taken seriously to present any threat to the country’s peace.

On top of this Roma and people never had  such an authoritative treatment in France and the latters are very high in… demand in this county, after a mark of same name “Gitanes” cigarets were produced many years ago, having wan the hearts of the French smoking population with the special aroma and the beautiful packet.

In any case this was a completely wrong move by president Nicolas Sarkozy, who seems to have largely miscalculated its political cost from the reactions from practically all quarters of Europe, specially his own country. This may be another sign that Sarkozy is now in dire straights and usually the politicians of his kind – neurotic and action prone – rush to mistakes when under pressures. The whole thing also reveals that Sarkozy, while trying to save the political conjuncture, did not hesitate to bend not literally the laws but the good traditions of his country vis-à-vis the minorities and those who search for shelter in France. Of course in the bottom of it was not an illegal act by the French administration, to ask the Roma from Romania, a fellow EU country, to register with the police. All EU citizens while living in another state different of their own have, after three months, to register with the authorities. This obligation however is very mush overseen by all member states of EU, including France. More so when it comes to Roma.

In any case it was a bad idea for the Paris government to peak out, out of thousands of EU citizens who stay in France but have not register with the police, some hundreds Roma and send them back to Bucharest. Hopefully this absolutely discretional application of the law will never be repeated. It is utterly undemocratic and introduces a gray division of citizens, according to what the authorities think about them. Besides this the obvious reason for this action by the French authorities was not what was officially alleged, but a much more controversial aim to help politically the government in a difficult position, at the expenses of a handful of poor people.

Read the article on New Europe

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