France will continue to deport hundreds of Gypsies evicted from illegal camps across the country despite widespread criticism over the crackdown on the ethnic minority group.
Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux said in a radio interview on Wednesday that France was within its rights to order the expulsions of Gypsies, or Roma, evacuated from more than 100 of their illegal camps.
"It's not a question of expelling Roma because they are Roma," Hortefeux said. "We are stigmatizing nobody. Everyone understands that we are enforcing simple rules. You cannot just illegally occupy land without authorization."
Hortefeux defended the crackdown by pointing out a 138 per cent increase in the number of Romanians arrested in Paris last year. He stressed that France was fully within its rights to order the deportation of citizens of other EU states who have overstayed their work permits without having legal income or health cover.
Separately, Immigration Minister Eric Besson said on Wednesday that President Nicholas Sarkozy had urged his Cabinet members "not to get sidetracked by useless controversies." He said Sarkozy made the remarks while presiding over his first Cabinet meeting since returning from summer vacation.
Besson said France had already sent back some 635 Gypsies to their home countries of Romania and Bulgaria after dismantling their illegal dwellings since the crackdown began earlier this month. About 950 more Gypsies would be repatriated by the end of the month.
French authorities began dismantling illegal Gypsy camps across the country in the beginning of the month following an order by Sarkozy. More than 117 camps had already been closed since the crackdown began.
Late last month, Sarkozy ordered dismantling of some 300 camps across the country and the deportation of their occupants as part of checking mounting crimes and urban violence. He had earlier promised to launch a tough crackdown after riots erupted in two French towns late last month during which a police station was attacked by the Gypsies.
Sarkozy said the Gypsy camps were "sources of illegal trafficking, of profoundly shocking living standards, of exploitation of children for begging, of prostitution and crime." He also indicated that a new legislation would be drafted soon to make easier the expulsion of Roma travelers from France "for reasons of public order."
However, he is currently facing strong criticisms from within and outside his party, associations for the defense of Gypsy rights and human rights groups, several of which accused him of singling out the ethnic minority group in an effort to win support of right-wing voters.
However, France has insisted that the evictions of illegal camps and deportation of the Gypsies could be carried out in compliance in the EU treaties that govern the freedom of movement in the European Union. Also the EU has indicated that it would monitor the French move carefully to ensure that it respects the bloc's rules.
The Roma community in France consists of hundreds of thousands of Gypsies living in the country as part of long-established communities, as well as recent immigrants, mainly from Romania and Bulgaria.
Bulgarian and Romanian citizens can enter France without visas as their home countries are members of the EU. But they require work permits to work in France and residency permits for settling in the country on a long-term basis.
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December 19, 2025 15:10 ET U.S. inflation data and interest rate decisions by major central banks were the highlights of this busy week for economics news flow. Employment data and survey results on the housing markets also gained attention in the U.S. In Europe, the European Central Bank and Bank of England announced their policy decisions and macroeconomic projections.