By Ramin Mazheri, Press TV, Paris
26/05/2013 - The Roma are considered the most persecuted group in Europe, and they experience some of their worst mistreatment in France. Many Roma say President Francois Hollande’s antagonistic policies are both disappointing and dangerous.
After a deadly fire claimed the lives of at least three Roma in a slum outside the city of Lyon, nearly a thousand Roma and their supporters marched in Paris to demand an end to their social exclusion. But hostility towards the Roma is one of the few issues which unites both left and right politicians in France.
France continues to earn international condemnation for its belligerent policies towards the Roma. President Francois Hollande has openly continued the approach of conservative ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy, by demolishing camps and forced expulsion of thousands of Roma in order to intimidate and destabilize the community.