Social Means Politics: How France Handles Romanian Roma Population’s Settlements
Social Means Politics: How France Handles Romanian Roma Population’s Settlements

Summary/Abstract: The French authorities handled in different ways the settlement of Romanian Roma migrants. But always, their decisions were in accordance with the French republican principles of equality, neutrality and universalism. During a few years, after 1990, when those migrants claimed the right of asylum, France first started to negotiate bilateral agreements with Romania, in order to reduce the immigration from this country. Then, the immigration and integration policies were put forward to handle these populations, from the middle ’90 until recently. From 2012, given that the Roma migrants settled in France on a long-term basis, a new approach was adopted, witch consists in laying stress on the poverty and inclusion policies. Political decisions state concerns on the access to the health services, to work, to housing, to schooling for the children. This article mentions particularly two types of action, carried out to that effect. The first one concerns the villages d’insertion, implemented in 2006-2007. Their aim was to facilitate the integration of poor Roma migrants, by offering in the same time housing and social support services to the persons witch agreed with and adhered to this social project. Meanwhile, its name changed, and it became structure d’hébergement et d’insertion. The second one is a social diagnosis; witch is now a legal obligation before dismantling an irregular settlement. These two types of action could be beneficial to the persons concerned, if the objectives are respected. The two of them reflected nevertheless an ethnicisation of the public action, conflicting the republican spirit.

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