French gypsies are the latest group of Roma to find themselves homeless, displaced to allow the development of sites for sports stadiums. Around 600 Romanian gypsies were cleared from around the Stade de France, in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis. The Rugby World Cup opens there tonight. As in Greece, central government washed its hands of the decisions, saying that they were made by local authorities.
Several Roma sites were cleared in the preparations for the Athens Olympics and gypsies in the UK lost a High Court battle to remain on a site that was earmarked for the 2012 Olympic Village.
The UK gypsies were offered an alternative site nearby, and their plight was debated in the UK House of Lords on 17th July 2007. Gypsies in the UK currently have licences to occupy sites, rather than proper tenancies. These licences can be terminated at very short notice, leaving the gypsies without the protection that a tenant would normally enjoy. The law is likely to change in this respect. The government has indicated that the Housing and Regeneration Bill (likely to be introduced in November 2007) will deal with a judgment of the European Court of Human Rights, Connors v UK. In this May 2004 decision, the Court found that the eviction of Mr Connors and his family, without the requisite procedural safeguards, was a breach of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (the right to protection for private and family life). It is hoped that the new legislation will provide more security of tenure for gypsies in the UK.
UK:
News of Judicial Review decision: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6620003.stm
House of Lords debate: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?id=2007-07-17a.127.6
New legal provisions: Johnson, Chris, ‘Security of tenure for Gypsies and Travellers on local authority sites’, Legal Action Group Bulletin, September 2007
France: http://www.guardian.co.uk/france/story/0,,2164176,00.html
Greece:
http://www.news24.com/News24/Olympics2004/OutsideTrack/0,,2-1652-1655_1579329,00.html
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October 19, 2007 at 12:50 pm
adifferentvoice
Long, five page, article in G2 today reporting on the Clays Lane Gypsies, moved to a new purpose-built site to make way ” and all for two weeks of the Olympics – it better be good”. It a very positive piece that reflects very well on the Gypsies themselves as well as on the London Development Agency. The new site – Parkway Crescent – is only 500m away from the old site, but built on part of a children’s playground. A new children’s playground has been built nearby.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/olympics2012/story/0,,2194781,00.html
It’s a shame that those of you reading on-line will not be able to see the photographs that accompany the report. I especially liked a photograph of a young women happily showing of her new baby, in bootees just like my Mum used to knit for every baby in sight.