Sarkozy suggests Roma ‘should be sent to Luxembourg’

French President Nicholas Sarkozy sparked a bitter European Union row by suggesting that the European Commissioner who compared his Roma policy to Nazi deportations should offer to host expelled gypsies in her native country of Luxembourg. The French President’s policy’ on expelling the Roma from their illegal encampments in France has created tension in the EU. It has ruffled feathers between heads of State, EU governments, the EU Commissioner and his deputy, who made the accusation against the French Presidents policy with that of the Nazi deportations. Viviane Reding, a Luxembourger and the EU’s Justice Commissioner had on Tuesday (14th September) threatened legal action and described Mr Sarkozy’s treatment of Roma as a disgrace that reminded her of Second World War ‘round ups’ of gypsies and Jews. Brno Sido, a French senator said his country’s leader would personally raise the “scandalous criticism at the EU summit on Thursday”. He added that he was only applying European Regulations, French laws, and France was irreproachable in the matter but that if the Luxembourgers want to take them he had no problem.”

Category: Europe / European Union / Roma

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