Sarkozy loyalists refuse to soften on France's controversial Roma crackdown

The Guardian

Nicolas Sarkozy's most loyal ministers vowed to press ahead with a crackdown on France's foreign Roma population today, in a show of strength designed to quash the appearance of a government split over the controversial policy.

Speaking at a joint press conference, interior minister Brice Hortefeux and immigration minister Eric Besson said they had no intention of rowing back on the policy, which has provoked concern from the UN, the EU and many leading figures of French society.

"The evacuation and demolition operations of illegal and illicit camps will continue because they are legitimate and necessary," said Hortefeux, adding that 128 squats had been broken up and almost 1,000 people had been sent back to their country of origin – most of them "voluntarily" – since the end of July.

In a sign of defiance towards those who have begged Sarkozy to rethink his stance, Besson announced he would be proposing a change in legislation to enable the authorities to deport foreigners guilty of "threatening public order through repeated thefts or aggressive begging".

Despite accusations that it is making a scapegoat of the Roma to boost its credentials on the right and far-right, the government insists its policy is merely the result of keeping to the law – that the EU's freedom of movement should not be abused, that the "insalubrity" of camps should be eradicated and that the crime apparently brought in to France by the Roma should be fought.

Hortefeux said that his ministry's statistics showed that crimes perpetrated by Romanian citizens in Paris had gone up by 259% in 18 months. "Today, in Paris, the reality is that nearly one in five thefts is carried out by a Romanian," he said. "There is no question of stigmatising this or that population ... but nor is there a question of closing our eyes to a reality," he added.

The crackdown, which has seen France criticised by NGOs, intellectuals and political figures the world over, is also starting to show cracks within the government. Today, the foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, admitted he had considered resigning over the matter, saying he agreed with the basics of the policy, but was not happy with aspects of its execution.

And, over the weekend, defence minister Hervé Morin irritated Sarkozy by reading a text message sent to him by a friend of North African origin. "'We, French of North African descent, are very proud to officially hand over to Roma the role of the scapegoat responsible for all of France's ills ... Good luck to them!'" said Morin, who is part of the Nouveau Centre party, not the president's Union for a Popular Movement.