France Eases Plight Of Romany Immigrants

People from a Romany community are expelled by police from their camp in Villeurbanne, outside Lyon, earlier this month.

The French government has revealed measures to ease Romany integration.

France has faced strong international criticism for years for its expulsions and police raids on makeshift Romany camps.

Many of the Romany immigrants seeking jobs in France come from Romania and Bulgaria, both newcomers to the European Union.

The government said it will scrap a tax making it more expensive for employers to hire Romany workers and expand the list of jobs open to immigrants from Bulgaria and Romania.

There are an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 Roma currently living in illegal and often squalid makeshift camps across France.


Based on reporting by Reuters and dpa