France will face Euro court for expelling Roma

France is facing legal action from Europe for its deportation of thousands of unwanted gypsies.

Viviane Reding, EU Justice Commissioner, today branded President Nicolas Sarkozy's government a "disgrace".

Suggesting that the expulsions broke laws banning discrimination against ethnic groups or nationalities, she said she would recommend "fast track infringement procedure" against the French. She said the case could be considered by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg "within weeks".

MEPs last week passed a motion accusing the Commission of failing to protect men, women and children who were being sent back to countries such as Romania and Bulgaria.

Many had been living in shanty towns on the outskirts of major cities including Paris and Lyon, with local authorities blaming them for a vast upsurge in crime. In turn, Mr Sarkozy's administration denies targeting a single ethnic group, saying that each deportation case is handled individually.

It points out that each deported person gets a modest cash incentive, and an assurance that they will be well looked after when they get back to their homeland.

But some critics have likened the Roma expulsions in France to the deportations carried out by the country's pro-Nazi Vichy regime during the Second World War. Others accuse Mr Sarkozy of using the gypsies as a convenient scapegoat for his failing economic policies and unpopularity with the French electorate.

Jane Birkin, the English actress and singer, said recently: "We are pushing away people that have a history of being pushed away.

"We have to defend them because they don't have enough of a voice. We have more of a voice than them. We have to be supportive."