Several associations react following the recent remarks by Jean Marie Le Pen and Christian Estrosi about the Roma community. Leading the response is the association Prales (brother in Romani), representing the Roma and supported by SOS Racisme 06, the Human Rights League, MRAP, the Education Without Borders Network, and Europe Ecology – The Greens.
Viorel Costache, president of the Prales association for the defense of the Roma, deplores these discriminatory statements against his community: “These slanders aimed at our ethnic group are meant to frighten the people of Nice and the French public. Jean-Marie Le Pen is accustomed to using this tactic against Arabs, Jews, and Romani people, but a well-mannered man should not speak in such a way. It is a political strategy for the upcoming elections. Their aim is to eradicate Roma migration if they come to power.” In response to public and political attacks on the Roma, a collective of associations is being formed at the national level.
SOS Racisme 06, through spokesperson Amadou Diallo, announces its intention to file a complaint against Christian Estrosi and Jean Marie Le Pen for these comments: “Our team of lawyers in Paris is working on this matter. We are witnessing an escalation of hate speech and division. The republican discourse is being trivialized, and we are entering a dangerous circle of permissiveness.” Christian Masson from MRAP is also in favor of filing a complaint: “There is a spread of racist and xenophobic ideas in society from all political parties. We do not want to reach the same situations as in some European countries where Roma are lynched and targeted.”
Richard Pfau from the Education Without Borders Network sees this as a catastrophe for Roma children who are out of school: “Methodically, the Roma have been expelled from encampments, leading to the dropout of several children. There were 50 in Nice, and more than half have stopped attending school.” Nadège Bonfils from EELV highlights the similarities with a dark part of our history: “This stigmatization of a community reminds us of sad memories in history.” At the Human Rights League, Swanie Potot denounces the political climate favorable to the National Front: “The National Front sets the tone for politics. Everyone is being lumped together.”
