In the last few weeks we have seen a terrifying attack on the Roma in France. Led by President Sarkozy himself, the French state has declared war on the Roma population, both recent arrivals from Eastern Europe and Roma who have lived in France for generations. There have been highly publicised eviction raids on Roma and Gypsy settlements with mass deportations to Eastern European countries. The language used by the French state is the same as that of Vichy when they rounded up Jews for the concentration camps. This has polarised French opinion and thousands came out to demonstrate in solidarity with the Roma across France.

The Irish Traveller Movement in Britain is calling for a demo at 1pm on Saturday 4th September outside the French Embassy (58 Knightsbridge) against the recent policies of the French Government, which have resulted in families with children as young as 2 weeks old being evicted with less than 30 minutes notice to gather their things and left homeless on the streets of France. Others have been packed onto planes with no choice and sent back to their home countries. Some of the Roma have lived in France all their lives. Others came from Romania or Bulgaria when they joined the EU in 2007. The French government is exploiting a loophole in EU legisaltion that expressly allows for restrictions on the right to move freely for reasons of public order, public security and public health.

The protests will be taking place simultaneously across Europe. See more about the demos in France here.

12 Noon Friday 3rd October 2008

Demonstrate at the Italien Tourist Board
1 Princes Street, London W1B 2AY(near Oxford Circus)

Roma people in Italy are facing the worst persecution since the Fascist era. We wish to confront the representatives of the Italian state which is behind this attack.The state’s lies encourage Italians to view Roma as illegal immigrants, as part of a generalized right-wing response to migration into Italy. Whilst we believe anyone should be able to settle wherever they want, it is important to point out the deliberate lies of the Italian government. Roma are not recent arrivals. Many have settled in Italy for 40 years and are Italian citizens. Those who have recently arrived have done so as part of the wider process of perfectly legal and natural economic migration within the EU. Some wish to travel, others wish to settle. They should have the same legal protection as other EU citizens.