European States Returning European Citizens. France and the Roma Populations

Though the free movement of European citizens is a fundamental freedom, it is limited by some key provisions of Directive 2004/38/EC. Member States have been exploiting to restrict the free movement of EU citizens such as France where national norms, juridictionnal decisions and administrative practices reveal such a trend, as well as a tendency to discriminate either on the nationality or ethnicity. Contrary to Article 18 TFEU and Article 21(1) CFR, French authorities are used to subject Roma to expulsion orders and detention mesures. Such decisions are adopted on two major grounds (Art. L511-3-1 CESEDA). First, the “abuse of rights”, which permits to expel EU citizens allegedly renewing stays of less in order to remain in the territory or staying in France for the purpose of benefitting from the welfare system. Second, the threat to public order, the administrative authorities interpret in a very extensive and questioning manner. Moreover the expulsion can be assorted by a three year entry ban, Law n°2016-274 affirms after Law n°2014-1353 created it as as provision relating to the fight against terrorism. Therefore Roma people can hardly be considered equally to other European citizens even to European citizens at all. Their situation highlights how pregnant is the discrimination in the substance of the European citizenship, shows how deep are the internal contradictions of an economic approach that pretends to develop a political aura, and how relative are the fundamental rights facing the exigencies of the free movement in the European space.