Migration Between Integration and Discrimination. The Case of Roma Communities of Romanian Nationality in the City of Rennes, France

Abstract

Given the current policies of the Western European countries on the repatriation of Roma population and subsidies granting to those who return to the country of origin, increasingly more Romanian citizens of Roma ethnicity view migration as an economic opportunity. The present study has at its basis the research conducted on Roma immigrants of Romanian origin in the city of Rennes, France, between March and June 2015. The interview-based survey was conducted on a sample of 50 participants of Roma ethnicity, originating from different areas of Romania, and is aimed at analyzing the attitudes of Romanian Roma immigrants towards the local authorities: local administration, school, hospital, NGOs. The research results suggest a positive perception of Roma population directed towards certain local stakeholders, such as the NGOs, hospital and school, as well as certain reluctance towards the local administration. The problems faced by the Roma community members in Rennes are linked to the attitude of local stakeholders towards immigrants, the difficulties of insertion in the work environment and social exclusion issues. Despite the difficulties they face, the most interviewees expressed no desire of return to Romania, except for the situation in which they would be repatriated by the French State. Their migration project is based upon the intention of remaining in France for a number of years, or of migrating to another developed country in Western Europe. The situation of Roma immigrants is highly sensitive, both for France and for the other Western European countries. Since 2000, many NGOs have focused their work on helping these communities illegally settled in France. This study represents a first contribution to a larger research project, focused on the analysis of the Roma community in the city of Rennes in particular and of Roma minorities of Romanian nationality in France, and generally follows the causes that have contributed to increased migration, migration experience and routes within the Roma population.

Development of Roma Settlements in Northern Moldova Around Hubs and Interchanges

“…The Roma migrants, in the present period, choose however the countries of the Western Europe [5] fact by which we can say that this contributes to economic development of the localities.…”