Romani people in France

The first Roma came to France in 1418, to the town of Colmar. In 1419, more Roma arrived in Provence and Savoy. Nine years later, the first Roma were recorded in Paris. In 1802, a concerted campaign was launched to remove Roma from the French Basque provinces. Over 500 Roma were captured and imprisoned, awaiting their planned deportation to the French colony of Louisiana. However, the colony was sold to the United States in 1803. In 1962, the Romani population in France increased due to an influx of refugees from Algeria. During Nazi Germany rule in occupied France, Roma in France were killed. After the collaborationist regime was established in 1940, the Vichy French authorities in France increased restrictive actions and harassment targeting Roma. Between 1941 and 1942, French police detained at least 3,000, or possibly up to 6,000, Romani people living in both occupied and unoccupied areas of France. However, French officials sent only a small number of Roma to camps in Germany, including Buchenwald, Dachau, and Ravensbrück. ==Culture==

Every year in late May, Christian Romani people travel to Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer for Saint Sarah. Gypsy Jazz and flamenco are popular Romani genres in France. Gipsy Kings are a popular flamenco band from Spain. There are two important Romani music festivals in France. There is a gathering at Saintes Maries de la Mer where Romani people from France and Spain congregate to celebrate the feast day of the Romani patron saint, Saint Sarah, on May 24th and May 25th in the Camargue. The music at this festival is predominantly flamenco with a large population of musicians making the pilgrimage from Andalusia. Another festival, Mosaïque Gitane takes place each July every year in Arles. Roma in France inspired Victor Hugo’s novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. ==Origin==

Studies reveal that the Romani people originated in South Asia, presumably from the regions of present-day Punjab, Rajasthan and Sindh. Linguistic, historical and genetic evidence suggests that the Romani people initially migrated from the north of present-day India or the east of modern Pakistan in the second half of the first millennium. However, their exact point of departure within the subcontinent has not been established with certainty. Romani's origins lie in the Central Indo-Aryan group of languages, such as Hindistani and Haryanvi, from present-day northern central India. According to a genetic study in 2012, the ancestors of present scheduled tribes and scheduled caste populations of northern India, traditionally referred to collectively as the Ḍoma, are the likely ancestral populations of modern European Roma. ==Population==

In France the Romani people are typically classified into three groups: • "Manouches", also known as "Sinté" (in Germany and Holland: Sinti), who often have familial ties in Germany and Italy, who form the majority of Romani groups • "Gitans", who trace their familial ties to Romani people in Spain • "Roms", who come from territories in eastern Europe The term "Romanichel" is considered pejorative in France, and "Bohémien" is outdated. Members of the Romani minority often call themselves Voyageurs (Travellers). The exact numbers of Romani people in France are not known, with estimates varying from 20,000 to 400,000, depending whether they include or not sedentary Roma, Manouches and cognate groups who intermingled with non-Roma Travellers (including Yenish people). The vast majority of this population uses a variety of French, usually called Voyageur, as their native language. In 2009, the European Committee of Social Rights found France had violated the European Social Charter (rights to housing, right to protection against poverty and social exclusion, right of the family to protection) in respect to Romani population from foreign countries.{{cite web|url=http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/socialcharter/Complaints/CC51Merits_en.pdf |title=European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) v. France ==Gallery==

File:Django Reinhardt (Gottlieb 07301).jpg|Guitar player Django Reinhardt. File:Corot - The Gipsy Girl, 1870-1872.jpg|Painting of a Romani female by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, c. 1870-1872 File:Corot - Gypsy Girl at a Fountain, E1924-4-8.jpg|Painting of a Romani woman at a fountain in France, by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, c. 1865-1870 File:Renoir - young-gypsy-girls.jpg!PinterestLarge.jpg|Painting of two Romani girls in France by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, c. 1902 File:Bain rituel gitan aux Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer.jpg|Ritual bath in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, a shrine associated with Romani people. File:Renoir - gypsy-girl-1879.jpg!PinterestLarge.jpg|Painting of a Romani girl in France by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1879 File:The Gypsies (Les Gitanos) MET DP815312.jpg|The Gypsies, an 1862 print by Édouard Manet File:Narcisse Diaz de la Peña - The Gypsy Princesses, San Antonio Museum of Art.jpg|The Gypsy Princesses, a painting by Narcisse Virgilio Díaz, c. 1865-1870 File:Tampon du camp de Montreuil-Bellay.jpg|A seal on a document on the Montreuil-Bellay "nomad concentration camp" (1943). ==Repatriations==

In 2010 and 2011, the French government organized repatriation flights to send Romanian Romanis to Romania. On 12 April, a chartered flight carrying 160 Romani left northern France for Timișoara. As in the 2010 deportations, the French government gave those Romani leaving France €300 each, with €100 for each child. The Romani on the 12 April flight were forced to sign declarations that they would never return to France. On 9 August, the city of Marseille in southern France forcibly evicted 100 Romani people from a makeshift camp near Porte d'Aix, giving them 24 hours to leave. A chartered flight carrying approximately 150 Romani to Romania left the Lyon area on 20 September. France's goal for 2011 was to deport 30,000 Romani to Romania. As of 2012, France sent about 8,000 Romani to Romania and Bulgaria in 2011, after dismantling camps where they were living on the outskirts of cities. The actions prompted controversy and calls for greater inclusion of Romani people. ==Racism==

Prejudiced views of Romani are widespread in France, with a 2014 Pew Research poll indicating that two-thirds of French people have unfavorable views of Romani. In 2016, more than 10,000 Roma were evicted by French authorities. According to a report published by the Human Rights League of France and the European Roma Rights Centre, 60 percent of all Romani living in France were forcibly evicted from their homes in 2016, many in cold winter months. Rumors and fake news stories of a white van occupied by Romani attempting to abduct children or young women have spread across the French internet on multiple occasions. A number of violent incidents against Romani occurred in March 2019 after rumors of Romani kidnapping children spread on Facebook and Snapchat. Two people in a white van were attacked by 20 youths in Colombes on 16 March. On 25 March, 50 people attacked a Roma camp in Bobigny with sticks and knives, burning several vans, and a separate group of Romani were chased and attacked in Clichy-sous-Bois. Similar incidents occurred in Aubervilliers, Bondy and Noisy-le-Sec. ==Notable individuals==