Sarkozy faces choices over Roma dispute
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French President Nicolas Sarkozy stands firm on his security policy against Roma, in an apparent bid to keep his place in the coming elections, but the policy has sparked a fresh deluge of criticism inside and outside the country. Analysts said Sarkozy has to make choices, cautiously.
In July this year, Sarkozy launched a tough campaign against the traveling communities in the country and ordered to send illegal Roma migrants home after a violent unrest broke out in central France where the traveling people caused material damage in Saint-Aignan while protesting the death of a 22-year-old traveler shot during police chase.
Angry voices were pouring in from the right, the left, the Catholic Church over the issue. A United Nations anti-racism panel accused the president of creating a civil war and fueling racism, while analysts said the policy is likely to hit France's image.
Criticism against France mounted after the European Commission called for suspending Roma expulsion immediately and noted the European Union's laws on the population's free movement and anti-discrimination rules.
However, Sarkozy's team insisted on pressing ahead the security policy, saying it was necessary and legitimate to continue evacuating illegal Roma camps.
"I think Nicolas Sarkozy is focusing more on the national level and what are French people expecting from him," said Gael Sliman, director of BVA, a French opinions institute.
"His attitude in Brussels was in his favor because it showed to citizens that he's fighting for them and to protect them especially that the French feel the EU is not really protective," Sliman told Xinhua.
"Sarkozy used security to regain popularity and prepare for the coming presidential polls. But, he should well balance between tension with Europe and the gain of some points in the ratings approvals," he added.
The French government has expelled 151 illegal Roma migrants to Bucharest after dismantling 212 illegal camps as part of Sarkozy's campaign to fight crimes and delinquency.
With this security objective, France's center-right government, which is undermined by fraud allegations and controversial pension reforms, is trying to lure votes from the extreme right, said a political analyst who refused to be named.
