| May 23, 1990 |
French courts order far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen to pay a token fine of one franc (20 cents) for making remarks in 1987 that "cast doubt or made commonplace the persecution and suffering inflicted by the Nazis on deportees, in particular Jews and Gypsies, during the Second World War." |
| Mar 18, 1991 |
On appeal, French Courts increase Le Pen's fine to 900,000 Francs (163,000 dollars). |
| Mar 30, 1992 |
According to a government Survey, the French are becoming increasingly hostile to North Africans, Southern Europeans, Gypsies and blacks. |
| Oct 1992 |
The lawyer for 3 Gypsies on trial for an orgy of looting, rape and murder in the Rhone valley four years ago says that they are the victims of anti-Gypsy discrimination and claims that the true culprits were 3 deserters from the Foreign Legion who were questioned and cleared by the police. They are eventually convicted and sentenced to 18 to 20 years in prison. When in jail, the 3 Gypsies cut their pinkies off of their left hands in protest. |
| Mar 5, 1993 |
The mayor of a northern Paris suburb abandons plans to move about 159 Gypsies to a town in eastern France in the face of an angry reaction by the townsfolk who do not want them as neighbors. The residents of Neuville-sur-Ain organize themselves into brigades armed with clubs and knives and riot in protest against the Gypsies coming. The town's mayor promises to oppose the "invasion." |
| Jul 1993 |
About 400 Yugoslav Gypsies are turned back at the French-German border because they have no visas. They protest against France's refusal to give them political asylum. |
| Dec 30, 1993 |
France deports about 2,000 Romanian Gypsies, some of whom had been in France since 1989. |
| Jul 27, 1994 |
French police in Nice crack down on Gypsy children operating as pickpockets. |
| Jan 3, 1995 |
A policeman is shot dead when police intervene in a shootout between Gypsies and North Africans in a poor suburb of Nice. A Gypsy man is arrested for the shooting. |
| Jun 12, 1995 |
Amnesty International protests the expulsion of 50 Romanian illegal immigrants, mostly young Roma men, from France. France has been trying to stem the tide of illegal Roma immigrants from Romania who are highly visible in Paris where they live by begging. Several other expulsions of Romanian Roma occur after this. |
| Aug 24, 1995 |
French authorities reject a request for political asylum from a group of Moslem Roma from Serbia who had originally claimed to be Bosnians. An 8-year-old boy from the group was shot dead earlier by French border police as the group tried to sneak into France. |
| Nov 8, 1996 |
In its annual report from Paris, the Centre for Research, Information and Documentation on Racism (CRIDA) declared that racism was on the rise throughout Europe, and that the plight of the Gypsies needed the most attention in light of events in Eastern Europe. The problem of racism and right-wing political parties was most acute France, Italy and Austria, according to the report. (Agence France Presse 11/8/96) |
| Nov 18, 1998 |
At the end of a two-day international conference of Gypsies in Lodz, Poland, a spokesman declared that the Roma should seek official status as a national minority in all European countries. The declaration was based on the discrimination and segregation faced by Roma throughout Europe, and the fact that Rom is still not recognized as an official language. (Agence France Presse 11/18/98) |
| Aug 23 - 23, 2004 |
About 20,000 Roma gather in northern France for a baptismal ceremony. (“Gypsies living in 4,500 caravans.” The Independent. 24 Aug. 2004.)
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| May 22 - 22, 2005 |
Roma were allegedly behind the beating death of a North African in the south of France. (“New murder of north African sparks unrest in southern French city.” Agence France Presse. 29 May 2005.)
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| Sep 20 - 21, 2005 |
Unknown persons or a group was responsible for vandalizing Roma tombstones in Montauban. (“Montauban: tombes vandalisées.” Libération. 23 Sep. 2005.) |
| Oct 2005 |
French authorities arrest 15 people connected with the trafficking of Roma babies in which Bulgarian Roma were selling babies for over $6,000 to French Roma families. The ring was first discovered in 2004. (“France: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005.” 8 Mar. 2006. US Department of State http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61648.htm)
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| Jan 2006 |
A French mayor set an illegal gypsy camp on fire and received a 6 month suspended sentence in May. There were no reports of injuries as the Roma seem to have deserted the camp prior to the fire. (“French mayor convicted for torching gypsy camp.” Agence France Presse. 15 May 2006.)
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