France has started sending back to Romania the illegal Roma immigrants it had found in the country, with the first batch due to arrive on Thursday. 93 Romanian citizens of Roma ethnicity will be sent back on two commercial flights today, followed by others in the next days, according to Mediafax newswire quoting data from the Foreign Affairs Ministry. These are all voluntary repatriations and each Roma received EUR 300 to return to Romania, while for children the compensation was of EUR 100.

The repatriation will continue until mid-September, when the last flight should carry the Roma back to Romania. To make sure the returnees will not receive the financial compensation again the the future, French officials have taken fingerprints.

The Foreign Affairs Ministry has underlined these are voluntary repatriations, which is something to be found in the French legal system. The deportation is part of what the French government says is a crackdown on illegal immigration, and it follows the government's dismantling in the past three weeks of 51 Roma camps that it called illegal, according to CNN.

The vice president of France's Human Rights League, Malik Salemkour, told CNN the expulsion was pointless because the there are no provisions for those being sent away and that many of them will return to France after being stranded in Bucharest or in Bulgaria for several day.

"Their children are at school here. They want to work here. It's been five, seven, 10 years that they have been living here. And though there have been obstacles, they are going to stay. And it's not fancy policies that are going to solve the problem," said Salemkour, quoted by CNN.

Illegal Romanian Roma camps have been dismantled near Paris in the last two weeks and more than 700 Roma will be sent back to Romania. Some of the Roma were also from Bulgaria. French president Nicholas Sarkozy has recently asked for these illegal camps to be tear down, calling them a source of trafficking and prostitution.

As many as 40 such camps have been closed down and their inhabitants will soon be expelled from the country with special charter courses, according to Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux. Some of the camps have been standing there for the last ten years. Most of the Roma speak French and some of the kids go to school, according to a Bloomberg report.

International media about 'controversial Roma expulsion'

The issue has been covered extensively by international media. Besides the CNN article headlined 'France to begin controversial Roma expulsion', The Economist ran a story on the issue on one of its blogs, Eastern Approaches. The article, titled 'Have your Roma back”, publishes the view and opinions of those waiting in Romania for the Roma to return. ““I don't think Sarkozy is a racist, but he is using the Roma to raise his popularity,” says Florin Cioaba, Romania's self-styled “King of all Gypsies.” writes The Economist.

“Determined not to let the matter rest, Paris is pressing the Romanian authorities to “integrate” their Roma—estimated to number anything between 530,000 and 2.5m. The biggest concern in Bucharest, which usually considers Paris an ally in EU negotiations, is that France might block Romania's planned accession to Europe's passport-free travel Schengen zone, which is due next March,” the article goes on. Read it entirely here.

'France to expel hundreds of Roma on Thursday', writes The Telegraph.  The Washington Post run a story with the title 'France to repatriate 93 Gypsies to Romania', quoting the Associated Press.

The Guardian says the repatriation could spark xenofobia, quoting Romanian Foreign Minister . The entire article here.

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