Romani people in France

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
(Redirected from Manouche)
Jump to: navigation, search
French Romanis
Total population
(est. 20,000 - 400.000 [1])
Regions with significant populations
Alsace, Aquitaine, Île-de-France, Languedoc-Roussillon, Lorraine, Midi-Pyrénées, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Rhône-Alpes
Languages
French, Spanish, Romani, Sinti-Manouche, Erromintxela
Related ethnic groups
Romani people

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

French Romani people are generally known in spoken French as "Gitans", "Tsiganes" or "Manouches".

Origin

The Romani people originate from Northern India,[2][3][4][5][6][7] presumably from the northwestern Indian states Rajasthan[8][9] and Punjab.[10]

The linguistic evidence has indisputably shown that roots of Romani language lie in India: the language has grammatical characteristics of Indian languages and shares with them a big part of the basic lexicon, for example, body parts or daily routines.[11]

More exactly, Romani shares the basic lexicon with Hindi and Punjabi. It shares many phonetic features with Marwari, while its grammar is closest to Bengali.[12]

Genetic findings in 2012 suggest the Romani originated in northwestern India and migrated as a group.[3][4][13] According to a genetic study in 2012, the ancestors of present scheduled tribes and scheduled caste populations of northern India, traditionally referred to collectively as the Ḍoma, are the likely ancestral populations of modern European Roma.[14]

Population

Guitar player Django Reinhardt.
File:Bain rituel gitan aux Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer.jpg
Ritual bath in Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, a shrine associated with Romani people.
File:Tampon du camp de Montreuil-Bellay.jpg
A seal on a document on the Montreuil-Bellay "nomad concentration camp (1943).

The French typically classify the Romani in their country into three groups: "Roms," referring to Romani who come from territories from eastern Europe; "Manouches," also known as "Sinté," who often have familial ties in Germany and Italy; and "Gitans," who trace their familial ties to Romani in Spain.[15] The term "Romanichel" is considered pejorative[citation needed], and "Bohémien" is outdated. The French National Gendarmerie tends to refer to "MENS" ("Minorités Ethniques Non-Sédentarisées")[citation needed], an administrative term meaning "Travelling Ethnic Minorities". This term is not neutral and not correct, because in broad majority even the French Romani have their homes like other minorities too, and are not more "travelling" than others.

Estimates of the number of Romani in France vary widely, from 20,000 to 400,000 Romani. Additionally, the French Romani rights group FNASAT reports that at least 12,000 Romani, who have immigrated from Romania and Bulgaria, live in unofficial urban camps throughout the country. French authorities often close down these encampments. In 2009, the government sent more than 10,000 Romani back to Romania and Bulgaria.[16]

In 2009, the European Committee of Social Rights found France had violated the European Social Charter (rights to housing, right to protection against poverty and social exclusion, right of the family to protection) in respect to its Romani population.[17]

Repatriations

In 2010 and 2011, the French government organized repatriation flights to send Romani back to Romania. On 12 April a chartered flight carrying 160 Romani left northern France for Timisoara. As in the 2010 deportations, the French government gave those Romani leaving France 300 euros each, with 100 euros for each child. The Romani on the 12 April flight had each signed declarations that they would never return to France.[18] On 9 August, the city of Marseille in southern France forcibly evicted 100 Romani people from their makeshift camp near Porte d'Aix, giving them 24 hours to leave.[19] A chartered flight carrying approximately 150 Romani to Romania left the Lyon area on 20 September.[20] France’s goal for 2011 was to deport 30,000 Romani to their home country.[21] As of 2012, France sent about 8,000 Romani back to Romania and Bulgaria in 2011, after dismantling illegal camps where they were living on the outskirts of cities. The actions prompted controversy and calls for greater inclusion of Romani people.[22]

See also

  • Cascarots, a group of Romani in the Basque Country.
  • Erromintxela, a group of Romani in the Basque Country with their own language.

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Hancock 2002, p. xx: ‘While a nine century removal from India has diluted Indian biological connection to the extent that for some Romanian groups, it may be hardly representative today, Sarren (1976:72) concluded that we still remain together, genetically, Asian rather than European’
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Current Biology.
  6. ↑ [1]
  7. ↑ [2]
  8. ↑ [3]
  9. ↑ [4]
  10. ↑ [5]
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Liégeois, Jean-Pierre. Roma, tsiganes, voyageurs. Council of Europe, 1994.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Romani_people_in_France&oldid=715096962"